In today’s date, the number of obese people is rapidly increasing and it is turning into a global epidemic with alarming speed. As per the WHO (World Health Organization), the number of obese adults grew from 200 million in the year 1995 to 300 million in the year 2000. The problem of obesity has conquered not only developed, but also the developing countries. The rate of obese people has reached its peak. Every generation of adults, children and old, both men and women, are susceptible to this problem. The risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, certain forms of cancer, are all effects of obesity.  

Several studies have found various weight loss diets to suppress obesity. Mediterranean diet, Twinkie diet, the zone diet, ketogenic diet, vegan diet, weight watchers diet, south beach diet, raw food diet etc., are all prominent diets. All these diets target different motives such as reducing appetite or restricting calorie and carb intakes. Such a huge number of dietary options makes it harder for people to choose which is the best. But the people who suggest these diets, are mostly unaware that a particular diet isn’t fit for everyone. Most of the diets consist of low carb foods. Two weight loss diets which are the most recommended, are the paleo diet and the ultra-low-fat diet.

The paleo diet, claims that you should eat the same foods that your hunter-gatherer ancestors ate before agriculture developed. Theoretically, most modern diseases can be linked to the western diet and the consumption of grains, dairy and processed food. The paleo diet emphasises whole food, lean protein, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds while discouraging processed foods, sugar, dairy and grains. Several studies show that this diet leads to impressive weight loss and helps in building muscle definition but the diet eliminates whole grains, legumes and dairy which should be part of any nutrition diet. This is a big disadvantage of this weight loss diet.

The ultra-low-fat weight loss diet restricts your consumption of fat to under 10% of daily calories. Which is a lot lower than the average of 30%. This diet mainly contains vegan food and is mostly plant-based. It is extremely high in carbs and low in protein. It has helped a lot of obese people and it is recorded that this diet reduces 140 pounds on an average. It results in reduced chances of heart attack and helps in significant improvements in type 2 diabetes. Its big downside is causing long term health problems. Hence this diet is not to be followed for longer periods of times. There are ample options for weight loss diets that people can follow, but to achieve true fitness, exercise and mental health play the greatest role.