Nostalgia And Authenticity In Low-Carb Diet

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Review of Literature Health awareness is a growing concern among Americans, where over two-thirds of the country’s adults are overweight and obese (Ogden et al., 2014). With obesity being a condition of excess body fat and having a negative impact on an individual, often being linked to other diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and insulin resistance people everywhere are seeking to cure or prevent obesity in their own lives. Obesity is often attributed to the excessive intake of calories and a lack of daily physical activity of an individual and the traditional way of managing calories-in and calories-out is a method many have attempted to be lose the excess fat. In fact, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans supported by the USDA,…show more content…
In her writing, Knight mentions that two low-carb diets, Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution and The South Beach diets, were developed with the idea that “health in general and slenderness in particular, can be achieved through a return to a more natural, traditional and authentic way of eating” (Knight, 2006, p. 272). As Knight (2006) examines the Atkins and South Beach Diets, she authenticates that the way of eating proposed in both eating plans “draws on a nostalgic ideal of American life popularly centered on the 1950s” (p. 274). The nostalgia that the author refers to is a desire to return to a way of eating that predates the Agricultural Revolution and Industrial Revolution because both caused a major shift in the American diet. She argues that before such shifts, people were accustomed to eating primarily as we were designed, as hunters and gathers who consume “primarily meat, fish, veggies, fruit, whole grains, seeds and nuts” (Knight, 2006, p.…show more content…
Of the 132 adults, 83% had diabetes (Stern et al., 2004) and participated in a year long study to observe outcomes between a low-carbohydrate diet and a calorie-restricted diet. The weight loss outcomes were not significant between the two diets; however, people with diabetes saw a significant metabolic responses after one year on a low-carbohydrate diet. The limitations in this study is that after a year, there was a 34% drop out rate (Stern et al., 2004). The conclusion of the study was that weight loss was similar between the groups, but the glycemic control was more favorable for the low-carbohydrate

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