Bogotá, August 11, 2020. In today's society, online information is easily accessible for most people, mainly adolescents and young adults; information that in many cases can affect our health and well-being.
"People nowadays usually search the internet for data on health and nutrition, fast diets to lose weight and any other reference that allows them to self-assess health, comparing information autonomously–and self-taught–on different treatment possibilities," said Elisa Cadena, Deputy Director of Nutritional Health, Food and Beverages of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection.
Although many social media-based health and fitness initiatives and interventions are supported by scientific research and led by qualified teams of health experts, not all the information circulating on the web is reliable and, on the contrary, can create an eventual adverse impact on the decisions of daily life and health status.
Recently, products, materials and methods and, above all, "diets" that promise surprising effects on health and particularly on weight loss have been on the rise. "The vast majority of these diets lack scientific evidence and support from a health professional," Cadena said.
According to the results of an American investigation published in 2015 in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, almost 90% of young adults have reported that they would trust the medical and nutrition information found on social networks, making them more vulnerable to access "pseudoscientific information" related to food and nutrition, and exposing them to deception and risks to their health.
In relation to this, Cadena stated that the effectiveness of some weight loss methods is often misrepresented, and users do not always know how to properly read and interpret the information they receive.
Risks
Among the risks and side effects of the "diets" available on the web, which do not have the endorsement of a professional are:
- Appearance of micronutrient deficiencies (vitamins and minerals) due to the lack of dietary ingestion and the manifestation of associated symptoms, such as hair loss, nail weakness, dizziness, asthenia, among others.
- Presence of gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation.
- Increased cardiovascular risk and liver, bone or kidney disorders.
- Fostering feelings of frustration that negatively affect the psychological state of the patient and trigger behavioral disorders, including eating disorders, especially in those with a predisposition. This situation is sometimes more serious than the excess weight that was intended to be corrected.
- Promotion of false myths in relation to diet and lifestyle, which can systematize risky eating habits or make them chronic.
- Delay in the initiation of adequate and targeted treatment, increasing the risk of morbidity and mortality.
- Changes in energy metabolism that produce states of "resistance" to weight loss with successive diets, which is known as the rebound or "yoyo" effect.
- Having economic expenses, sometimes very high, in products that do not deliver the declared effects.
Additionally, these types of "diets" are difficult to follow in the long term, which is why, when the person abandons them, "they have not yet learned to eat healthily and tend to resume the inappropriate practices that originally caused alteration in their nutritional status, like, for example, being overweight," Cadena said.
"For this reason, at the Ministry of Health and Social Protection we call on the Colombian population, especially those who are consumers of internet content related to food and nutrition, to be more critical of the messages they receive, to take care of their health and prevent the appearance of eating disorders," said the deputy director.
Likewise, it is always recommended to consult a health professional, especially the dietitian nutritionist, who is the ideal professional in the design and implementation of healthy diets or eating plans for individuals and communities, diversified and adapted to the particular conditions of each context.
Dietitian nutritionists are also in charge of promoting an adequate state of health and preventing risk factors associated with diet, especially in those with special health conditions that require specific nutritional management, where diet plays a fundamental role, to avoid or favor the appearance of complications.
"At the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, we congratulate your effort and perseverance in planning and educating people about healthy eating, the act of eating being a moment of socialization that unites the family. Your work is essential to ensure that individuals and communities eat properly, thus achieving the goal of maintaining an adequate state of health and preventing the appearance of diseases related to nutrition or contributing to their treatment. Congratulations to all nutritionists on their day," concluded Cadena.
