Dieting Fads for Teens

Thanks to the media and peer pressure, teen girls are under immense pressure to attain rail-thin figures. In order to lose weight quickly, teens are turning to mildly effective fad diets that provide only minimal results. However, when a teen makes a habit of jumping from one fad diet to another, the chances of her developing an eating disorder are dramatically increased. While there are an abundance of fad diets, the five mentioned here are some of the most popular among teens.

Ultra-Low Calorie Diets

The recommended daily caloric intake for teen girls between the ages of 15 and 18 is 2,100. However, ultra-low calorie fad diets, such as the Caroline Kettlewell, the Vegan Model and the Three-a-Day Fruit diets, promote daily calorie intakes of less than 300 calories. Consuming 1,800 calories less than the recommended caloric intake can lead to dangerous results. Consuming such a low number of calories over a prolonged period of time will put the body into starvation mode. When the body goes into starvation mode, the fat cells cling for dear life to each calorie that enters the body, which can cause weight gain in the long run.

Raw Food Diet

While a raw food diet may be a healthy lifestyle choice for a fully developed adult body, it is an unhealthy choice for a teen. When a teen survives solely on a raw food diet, the body isn't allowed to develop as it should. Both calories and nutrients become scarce, resulting in unfavorable results on the body. Common side effects of a raw food diet are nausea, headaches and diarrhea.

Soda and Cigarettes

This fad diet is as dangerous as it sounds and is common among teens with eating disorders. The soda and cigarettes diet allows dieters to consume just diet soda and cigarettes, which bring the daily calorie intake to a whopping zero calories. When dieters experience uncontrollable hunger, they smoke a cigarette in order to curb the cravings. When the hunger becomes unbearable, the dieter drinks a diet soda. This is one of the most dangerous fad diets.

2-4-6-8 Diet

This fad diet tries to trick the metabolism into thinking that it is being fed properly. However, the body understands when nutrients and calories are lacking. The 2-4-6-8 diet is a diet that lasts four days. The diet plan is as follows: Day 1: 200 calories; Day 2: 400 calories; Day 3: 600 calories; Day 4: 800 calories. The calorie intake for each day is varied in hopes of tricking the body's metabolism. As with the soda and cigarettes diet, the 2-4-6-8 diet is commonly followed by teens with eating disorders.

Russian Gymnast Diet

The Russian gymnast fad diet follows in the footsteps of the Russian Olympic gymnast Irina Tchachina, who weighs less than 100 lbs at 5-foot-6. She has allegedly followed this diet in order to maintain her slim figure. The diet plan is a glass of apple juice for breakfast, fruit salad for lunch and an apple for dinner. Teens automatically assume that this diet will make them thin. However, they fail to realize that Irina follows an intensive training regime that likely burns off hundreds of calories a day.