T
RADITIONALADVICE
fromdietitianshasbeen
toloseweightslowly
andsteadilyata rate
of0.5–1kga week,by
cuttingaround500–600kcal
fromournormaldailyintakes.
Indeed,HFGhasalwaysbased
weight-lossadviceandplanson
a dailycalorieintake of around
1,400–1,500kcal.
Butthepastfewyearshave
seenanincreaseinthecredibility
giventoverylowcaloriediets
(VLCDs)– bothbythemediaand
themedicalprofession– asa way
toloseweightfastandimprove
health.Inparticular,headlines
havefocusedontype2 diabetes,
which,accordingtoDiabetesUK,
affectsalmostfivemillionpeople
intheUK.Recenttrialshave
shownthattherapidweightloss
resultingfromVLCDscanputthe
conditionintocompleteremission.
It certainlysoundslikea good
newsstory.Butwhatexactlydo
VLCDsconsistof,aretheysafe,
andshouldyoufollowone?We’ve
lookedintothelatestresearch
to help you make a judgement.
Healthexperts
havealways
discouraged
extremedietsandrapidweightloss,but
800kcal-a-daydietsbased
onshakesandsoupsare
gaininginpopularity–
andcredibility.Dietitian
JulietteKellowlooks at
the pros and cons
Weight lossJUNE 2019HEALTHY FOOD GUIDE 33