More than half of women have abandoned extreme health fads after being left feeling misled by quick-fix diets and celebrity fitness videos. Research involving 2,000 women revealed numerous once-trendy dietary approaches - including the baby food diet, grapefruit diet and Atkins diet - that women no longer consider worthwhile.
Fads women are relieved to leave behind
The cabbage soup diet, juice cleanses and celebrity home workouts have been identified amongst the most significant health fads that women are relieved to leave behind. Exercise trends such as Insanity workouts, hot yoga, and the Nintendo Wii Fit have similarly lost their appeal.
Following decades of wellness crazes, 43% of women are now more sceptical about health fads than previously, primarily because they've discovered there are no quick wins.
Shift towards sustainable habits
Women are now more likely to concentrate on straightforward sustainable strategies such as increasing their water intake or walking more. Eating more fruit and vegetables, exercising more regularly or taking vitamins and supplements were also among the things women would now rather do.
Melissa Cohen, head of nutrition at Vitabiotics Wellwoman, which commissioned the research, said: "Some of these health fads were staples in years gone by. But times have changed and women are now looking at a more holistic approach to wellness and building consistent healthy habits."
"We've all had the disappointment of trying something that seemed like a quick fix, and often it is the simpler approaches that see the best results. Simply improving your diet and nutrition, being more active and ensuring you get enough sleep can be all it takes to notice a difference in how you feel."
Past experimentation and disappointment
Over half of women (51%) have experimented with a wellness and fitness fad or trend, with intermittent fasting (29%), the Slim Fast diet (26%) and step aerobics (23%) proving the most popular choices. Zumba (23%), celebrity fitness DVDs and videos (22%) and even the Nintendo Wii Fit (21%) have also attracted a strong following.
Yet many were left feeling let down, with 21% feeling misled and 20% annoyed. Two thirds cannot imagine trying a health and fitness fad now, with 47% of those being more concerned about their overall health and wellbeing than chasing a quick-fix trend.
Four in ten are now more committed to making consistent lifestyle changes (40%) or prefer to stick to more tried-and-tested methods (30%).
Prioritising health and simplicity
The study, conducted through OnePoll, revealed that 62% consider their health and wellbeing 'very important', with two thirds also stating it is more of a priority for them than it was ten years ago. However, as lives become increasingly hectic, 62% are seeking a more straightforward approach to health and wellness, with 50% admitting it is often the first thing to be neglected when time is short.
Melissa Cohen, from Vitabiotics Wellwoman, added: "Women's lives are getting busier, and it's often our health and wellbeing that can drop off when things feel a bit fraught. Making it as simple as possible is key for you to be able to continue being consistent with your health and wellness goals."
Top 40 health and fitness fads
The research also compiled a list of the top 40 health and fitness fads, including the cabbage soup diet, baby food diet, grapefruit diet, SlimFast, Atkins diet, Special K diet, juice cleanses, celebrity fitness DVDs/classes, keto diets, lemonade diet, tracking everything via wearable tech, cold-water baths/therapy, caveman diet, acid/alkaline diets, Insanity workouts, Cambridge diet, intermittent fasting, biohacking, paleo diet, high-protein diets, 5:2 diet, hot yoga, pole dance fitness, boot camp, six-minute abs, clean eating, ThighMaster, ab rollers, Nintendo Wii Fit, Peloton, power/vibration plates, spin classes/SoulCycle, Zumba, rebounding, power walking, Tae Bo, CrossFit, Boxercise, step aerobics, and dancercise.
