With obesity predicted to affect more than 50 percent of the population by 2050, the time of "celebrity diets" and "quick weight loss program" has become more popular than ever before. From the cabbage diet to the Hollywood 24 to the 7 day Elimination diet, every single one of these dietary fads all claim to quicken weight loss and increased vitality.

Do they work?

Not really. Apart from helping you to experience instant water weight loss, 90% of slimmers have claimed little weight losses of just 1-4 lbs before hitting a plateau.

More disconcertingly, once dieters stopped using these fad diets they immediately regained all excess lbs lost.

Are they harmful your health?

Whilst celebrity diets can help dieters to benefit from fast weight losses, almost all of them are not safe for the foreseeable future.

Limiting the amount of key nutrients needed to ensure your body is working at maximum levels, many involve lowering your calorie consumption to less than 1,000 calories a day - less than 50% of your nutritional allowance.

Accompanied by strict exercise routines and unrelenting calorie checking, many of these said dietary fads do run the risk of leaving you feeling quezy, tired, unable to think straight and more worryingly unable to function properly.

How can you recognize a fad diet?

Fad diets are easier to spot than you imagine. Promoting a quick fix solution to your weight loss issues, you can easily recognise a fad diet by their:

- Too good to be true claims - Minimal of clinical trials - Removal of one if not more of the five recommended food groups - Recommendations from studies without reviews from other researchers

With a weight loss program or weight loss supplement, it is essential to deeply analyse their studies first before adding them into your weight loss programme. If there are no clinical trials or proof that they can achieve real and credible health benefits, then these quick fix weight loss programs are too good to be true.