For a person out of touch with the latest food and diet fads, the search for the right diet to shed a few pounds and become healthier may be overwhelming.
It seems as though there is a new best-selling diet book hitting the shelves every other week, its cover and name slightly catchier than the previous diet book king.  
Some may think it is ironic that as the number of diet books published increases, so do levels of obesity, diabetes and heart disease, as recently reported by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The report said in 2001, 44 million Americans were obese and 16.7 million had been diagnosed with diabetes.
Despite these facts, Americans are spending a massive amount of money on health-related products.
MSNBC reported the sales of low-carbohydrate diet products and books alone amounted to $15 billion last year and that those sales are expected to double this year.
And that is just one of many diets plans being sold today.
With all of the weight loss doctors and gurus out there making millions of dollars selling their advice, there must be a problem if Americans are taking their advice and still getting more obese.
One problem may lie in false advertising, as stated by the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC.
They claim that many diet plans currently being sold are lies.
A message on the FTC Web site said, “Misleading weight loss advertising is everywhere, preying on consumers desperate for an easy solution.”
According to the FTC, there are certain indicators that a person should look out for that may prove a diet is too good to be true.
The FTC said diet products that promise weight loss without effort or sacrifice are bogus and, in some cases, dangerous.
But not all diet products use false advertising or try to mislead consumers into buying bogus goods.
In December 2002, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, or PCRM, gave its highest rating, five stars, to the books “The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss” and “Eat More, Weigh Less.”
The McDougall program combines exercise with healthy, low-fat eating.
The Eat More diet program is a research-based vegetarian-style diet which includes whole grains, legumes, vegetables and fruit.
The newly popular Atkins diet, which recently influenced menu changes at many restaurants around the country, fared poorly on the PCRM report.
It received an “unsafe” rating along with another popular diet called Protein Power.
The PCRM stated these two unsafe diets fail to incorporate foods which decrease the risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
They also said the diets were much too high in fat and may cause cholesterol problems and massive calcium loss.
The federal government has even become involved in the quest to design America’s best diet.
To help health-savvy Americans make the right nutritional choices, the U.S. Department of Agriculture created the Food Guide Pyramid in 1992.
It was developed with the intentions of providing Americans with a nutritionally sound meal plan.
But like many other diets, research by nutritionists and scientists has found the USDA pyramid to be severely flawed.
The pyramid stresses a diet low in fat and high in complex carbohydrates.
That may sound healthy to some, but research has proven that not all fats are unhealthy and not all complex carbohydrates are healthy.
According to an article on ScientificAmerican.com, although a diet high in saturated fat increases cholesterol and the risk for heart disease, a diet high in polyunsaturated fat reduces cholesterol and lowers the risk for heart disease.
Polyunsaturated fats are found in vegetable oils and fish.  
Beth Reames, a professor and nutrition specialist at the Ag Center, believes that people should find a well-balanced diet that they can stick to for life.
“People need a diet that provides the nutrients they need for good health and fits their personal lifestyle,” Reames said.
Reames said the reason many weight loss diets fail is because people do not like the food they are required to eat.
Although it is under revision, Reames said the Food Guide Pyramid is a good reference for meal planning.
She also said that the major reason Americans are gaining weight is because they do not understand the mechanisms of hunger and when to stop eating.
Emily Schlumbrecht, the fitness director at the University Rec Center, agrees.
“People don’t listen to their bodies, and overeat,” Schlumbrecht said.
Schlumbrecht also emphasized that a healthy diet alone is not enough to lose weight.
She attributes the high obesity level in America to a combination of a bad diet and a sedentary lifestyle.
“The key to losing body fat is to expend more calories than you take in,” Schlumbrecht said. “The same goes for exercise. You need the right fuel for your body when you exercise and the only way you can do that is through a proper diet.”
The Rec Center offers many resources and services to students, including body composition analysis, personal and group exercise sessions, and fitness seminars.
For more information about exercise and nutrition, go to the Rec Sports Web site or contact Emily Schlumbrecht at 578-1092.