Fad diets are not as new as they might seem at first. These date back to the mid 19th century when an obese Londoner was prescribed such a diet on experimental basis. Now, after a century and a half, fad diets have become popular among people with weight problems. Teens and young adults especially flock to fad diets for answers to weight problems.

Fad dieting is just that, a fad. It may work short term, but you will quickly run into problems. It cannot last. Long term weight loss principles are what you need to get rid of those extra pounds and keep them off.

People think fad diets are the answer to their weight problems but they actually are a problem in them self. This article gives you reasons not to go on a fad diet and ideas on what will work instead.

Many people worry a lot about their weight, leading them to try all kinds of weight loss programs and products, including fad diets and fat burning pills. Billions of dollar are spent on these programs and products for these promise effective solutions to weight loss problems.

If you only need to lose a few pounds, you may be tempted to try a 'fad' diet for reducing your calorie consumption. These diets can work, but you should be aware of their associated problems:

The Atkins Nutritional Approach, popularly known as the Atkins Diet or just Atkins, is the most marketed and well-known low-carbohydrate diet. It was adapted by Dr. Robert Atkins in the 1960s from a diet he read in the Journal of the American Medical Association and utilized to resolve his own overweight condition following medical school and graduate medical training. After successfully treating over ten thousand patients, he popularized the Atkins diet in a series of books, starting with Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution in 1972. In his revised book, Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, Atkins updated some of his ideas, but remained faithful to the original concepts.The Atkins franchise, a business formed to provide products to those individuals on the diet, has been highly successful due to the popularity of the diet, and is considered the iconic and driving entity of the larger "low-carb craze". However, various factors have led to its dwindling success and the company founded by Dr. Atkins in 1989, Atkins Nutritionals of Ronkonkoma, New York, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July of 2005, two years after the death of Dr. Atkins. The company re-emerged in January 2006, and the Atkins logo is still highly visible through licensed-proprietary branding for food products and related merchandise.