Youth fall prey to celeb diets

For a generation that believes in “instant gratification” even the perfect figure is just a crazy diet away. And with celebs splashing their quirky diet secrets in glossies, youngsters in the city are game to try anything from a bland cabbage soup diet to a bizarre popcorn diet. Weight-watchers who are only too happy to shed a few pounds don’t notice the side effects —sallow skin, falling hair and dark circles under the eyes. But doctors say there is more than just the side-effects to worry about.

While medical experts do advocate the transition from fat to fit, they insist that it should always be done under supervision. K. Angel Kumar, a dietician, says, “There’s nothing wrong with dieting per se, as long as it’s a healthy diet that you follow. But the problem with this impatient generation is that they want results in a jiffy. The result? They google up crazy fad diets and follow them without consulting any expert. I have treated many young girls who took ill after they followed a diet that Kareena Kapoor was supposed to have followed. We must understand that stars have experts monitoring their health 24x7 and what works for Kareena, needn’t work for you.”

In fact, ever since Kareena shrunk to size zero, her dietician Rujuta Diwekar’s book Don’t Lose your Mind, lose your Weight has become a bible of sorts for those obsessed with weight loss. Management trainee Neethi Ravinder, who swears by this book,says, “I was on a crazy diet where I could eat just puffed rice or khakra with curd. I did lose oodles of weight, but I eventually gave up as I’d reached a plateau and couldn’t lose any more. I’m now hooked to Diwekar’s book, all her diet mantras work.”

Fad diets endorsed by celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston, Sarah Michelle Geller etc are also popular with city youngsters, say doctors who warn that yo-yo diets could take a toll on one’s health. Farah, a student of CSIT, who fell “prey” to the famous ‘morning banana diet’ says, “This diet allows you to have as many bananas as you want and water. But due to potassium overload I developed a kidney complication.” The only solution is to stick to a healthy weight-loss plan and stay away from uncertified “diet consultants” who claim to be health experts. Dr Raghavendra Rao, a general physician, says “dieticians, who needn’t be qualified doctors, are concerned about giving you visible results, regardless of whether it affects your health or not. they don’t mind recommending extreme diets in bid to retain their clientele. It’s best to consult resident dieticians affiliated to well-known hospitals.”