South Beach Diet

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The South Beach Diet is a popular fad diet developed by Arthur Agatston and promoted in his bestselling 2003 book. [1] [2] [3] It emphasizes eating food with a low glycemic index, and categorizes carbohydrates and fats as "good" or "bad". [4] Like other fad diets, [5] it may have elements which are generally recognized as sensible, but it promises benefits not backed by supporting evidence or sound science. [1] [6]

Contents

Technique

The diet has three stages and gradually increases the proportion of carbohydrate consumed as it progresses while simultaneously decreasing the proportions of fat and protein. [7] It includes a number of recommended foods such as lean meats and vegetables and has a concept of "good" (mostly monounsaturated) fats. [7] It makes no restriction on calorie intake, includes an exercise program, and is based around taking three main meals and two snacks per day. [8]

The first stage of the diet aims for rapid weight loss (8 to 13 lbs in two weeks). According to the UK's National Health Service (NHS), the severity of the first stage of the diet may result in the loss of some vitamins, minerals and fiber. The NHS reports that dietary restrictions during stage one may cause side effects including "bad breath, a dry mouth, tiredness, dizziness, insomnia, nausea, and constipation." [8] Such symptoms would be rectified once the less extreme phases of the diet then began. [8]

Health effects

Like other fad diets, the South Beach Diet has been marketed with bold claims that are not supported by evidence and with an unrealistic promise of easy weight loss. [6] The book that promotes it also contains some incorrect and misleading information. [1] [4] Nevertheless, some aspects of the diet correspond with dietary advice that is recognized as sensible: [6] its last two stages are sufficiently nutritious to be considered healthy. [8] Like other high-fat diets, its short-term safety has been established, but its long-term safety has not. [9]

The diet is promoted as improving risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease, but the effectiveness for improving these risk factors is unclear because no evidence on its effects is available. [10] A trial found no change in weight loss compared to usual care. [10]

South Beach Diet and other low-carbohydrate diets lack dietary fiber. Fiber is generally considered to aid weight loss and to help prevent obesity. [11]

Difference from other low-carb diets

Many sources place the South Beach Diet on lists of "low carb" diets such as the Atkins Diet. While the South Beach diet does prohibit foods rich in simple carbohydrates such as white bread, white potatoes and white rice, [12] it does not require dieters to forgo carbohydrates entirely or even measure their intake. Instead, it focuses on the "glycemic impact" (short term change in blood glucose) of foods. (Nutritionists continue, however, to question the net benefit of the first phase to dieters not affected by impaired glucose metabolism.) Many vegetables are permitted even in phase 1. Complex, fiber-rich carbohydrate sources such as brown rice and 100% whole grain bread are permitted during phase 2. Agatston has tried to distance the South Beach Diet from "low carb" approaches; in the South Beach Diet book he wrote: "It is my purpose to teach neither low-fat nor low-carb. I want you to learn to choose the right fats and the right carbs." [13] : 22–23 

History

The South Beach Diet was developed in the mid-1990s by celebrity doctor Arthur Agatston with the assistance of Marie Almon, the former chief dietitian at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida. [14] [15] [16] Originally called the Modified Carbohydrate Diet, the plan was renamed the South Beach Diet after the South Beach neighborhood in Miami Beach near Agatston's practice. [15]

The diet plan was initially developed for Agatston's own patients. Agatston noticed that the American Heart Association's recommended low-fat and high-carbohydrate diet was not lowering his patients' weight, cholesterol, or blood sugar levels, but that his patients on the Atkins diet were experiencing weight loss. Unwilling to prescribe the Atkins approach to patients with cardiac issues due to the diet's allowance of saturated fat and limitation of carbohydrates containing fiber and other nutrients, Agatston referenced medical research to build an eating plan that categorized fats and carbohydrates as good or bad and emphasized lean protein and fiber. [17]

The plan grew in popularity as a method of weight loss as Agatston reported the results at conferences and patients distributed photocopies outlining the diet throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. [17] In 1999 a Miami TV news show put people on the diet and broadcast the results, popularizing the diet locally. [16] [18]

The first book describing the diet, The South Beach Diet, was written by Agatston and was released in April 2003. [4] [15] [19] By 2004 there were about 8 million copies in print, a trade paperback South Beach Diet Good Fats/Good Carbs Guide had 3 million copies in print, and The South Beach Diet Cookbook went on sale with a printing of 1.75 million copies. [15]

In 2004, former US President Bill Clinton reportedly followed the diet. [20]

In 2008, Agatston published The South Beach Diet Supercharged, written with Joseph Signorile, a professor of exercise physiology; it included an interval training program. [21] A review for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that "Readers are likely to see success using this diet and fitness book. I recommend skipping the restrictive Phase One meal plans and instead follow the more balanced Phase Two diet. The simple 20-minute-a-day exercise program is a realistic and inexpensive approach to fitness." [21]

SBD Enterprises LLC, of which Agatston is a part owner, [22] owns the "South Beach Diet" trademark. [23] In December 2015, Nutrisystem acquired SBD for $15 million. [22] [24] : 20–21  [25] Nutrisystem said that it planned to launch new lines of South Beach products by 2017 that it would market through retail stores and on the internet. [22] [24] : 21 

In December 2018, South Beach announced that they would launch a keto-friendly diet in 2019. [26]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbohydrate</span> Organic compound that consists only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen

A carbohydrate is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 and thus with the empirical formula Cm(H2O)n, which does not mean the H has covalent bonds with O. However, not all carbohydrates conform to this precise stoichiometric definition, nor are all chemicals that do conform to this definition automatically classified as carbohydrates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atkins diet</span> Low-carbohydrate fad diet devised by Robert Atkins

The Atkins diet is a low-carbohydrate fad diet devised by Robert Atkins in the 1970s, marketed with claims that carbohydrate restriction is crucial to weight loss and that the diet offered "a high calorie way to stay thin forever".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Atkins (physician)</span> American physician (1930–2003)

Robert Coleman Atkins was an American physician and cardiologist, best known for the Atkins Diet, which requires close control of carbohydrate consumption and emphasizes protein and fat as the primary sources of dietary calories in addition to a controlled number of carbohydrates from vegetables.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glycemic index</span> Number assigned to food

The glycemic (glycaemic) index is a number from 0 to 100 assigned to a food, with pure glucose arbitrarily given the value of 100, which represents the relative rise in the blood glucose level two hours after consuming that food. The GI of a specific food depends primarily on the quantity and type of carbohydrate it contains, but is also affected by the amount of entrapment of the carbohydrate molecules within the food, the fat and protein content of the food, the amount of organic acids in the food, and whether it is cooked and, if so, how it is cooked. GI tables, which list many types of foods and their GIs, are available. A food is considered to have a low GI if it is 55 or less; high GI if 70 or more; and mid-range GI if 56 to 69.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fad diet</span> Popular diet with claims not supported by science

A fad diet is a diet that is popular, generally only for a short time, similar to fads in fashion, without being a standard scientific dietary recommendation, and often making unreasonable claims for fast weight loss or health improvements; as such it is often considered a type of pseudoscientific diet. Fad diets are usually not supported by clinical research and their health recommendations are not peer-reviewed, thus they often make unsubstantiated statements about health and disease.

The Zone diet is a fad diet emphasizing low-carbohydrate consumption. It was created by Barry Sears, an American biochemist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Low-carbohydrate diet</span> Diets restricting carbohydrate consumption

Low-carbohydrate diets restrict carbohydrate consumption relative to the average diet. Foods high in carbohydrates are limited, and replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of fat and protein, as well as low carbohydrate foods.

The glycemic load (GL) of food is a number that estimates how much the food will raise a person's blood glucose level after it is eaten. One unit of glycemic load approximates the effect of eating one gram of glucose. Glycemic load accounts for how much carbohydrate is in the food and how much each gram of carbohydrate in the food raises blood glucose levels. Glycemic load is based on the glycemic index (GI), and is calculated by multiplying the weight of available carbohydrate in the food (in grams) by the food's glycemic index, and then dividing by 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High-protein diet</span> A diet high in protein

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Goff SL, Foody JM, Inzucchi S, Katz D, Mayne ST, Krumholz HM (July 2006). "Brief Report: nutrition and weight loss information in a popular diet book: is it fact, fiction, or something in between?". Journal of General Internal Medicine. 21 (7): 769–74. doi:10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.00501.x. PMC   1924692 . PMID   16808780.
  2. ↑ Sandra Bastin for University of Kentucky Extension Service. August 1998; revised March 2004. University of Kentucky Extension Service: Fad Diets
  3. ↑ "People to watch". Nature Medicine. 12 (1): 29. 2006. doi:10.1038/nm0106-29. ISSN   1078-8956. S2CID   26068107. James Hill wants Americans to shed pounds. But instead of promoting any one fad diet, he embraces most--Atkins, South Beach, grapefruit-only--as relatively effective ways to lose weight.
  4. 1 2 3 Abby Goodnough (7 October 2003). "New Doctor, New Diet, But Still No Cookies". The New York Times .
  5. ↑ DeBruyne L, Pinna K, Whitney E (2011). "Chapter 7: Nutrition in practice – fad diets". Nutrition and Diet Therapy (8th ed.). Cengage Learning. p. 209. ISBN   978-1-133-71550-4. 'a fad diet by any other name would still be a fad diet.' And the names are legion: the Atkins Diet, the Cheater's Diet, the South Beach Diet, the Zone Diet. Year after year, 'new and improved' diets appear ...
  6. 1 2 3 "Sizing up South Beach. It makes some good points, but The South Beach Diet has problems typical of diet books: lack of proof and some dubious claims". Harvard Health Letters. 29 (1): 5. November 2003. PMID   14633496.
  7. 1 2 Chahoud G, Aude YW, Mehta JL (November 2004). "Dietary recommendations in the prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease: do we have the ideal diet yet?". American Journal of Cardiology (Review). 94 (10): 1260–7. doi:10.1016/j.amjcard.2004.07.109. PMID   15541241.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Top diets review for 2014 § South Beach Diet". NHS Choices. 20 December 2013.
  9. ↑ Lara-Castro C, Garvey WT (2004). "Diet, insulin resistance, and obesity: zoning in on data for Atkins dieters living in South Beach". Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (Review). 89 (9): 4197–205. doi: 10.1210/jc.2004-0683 . PMID   15356006.
  10. 1 2 Atallah R, Filion KB, Wakil SM, Genest J, Joseph L, Poirier P, Rinfret S, Schiffrin EL, Eisenberg MJ (2014). "Long-term effects of 4 popular diets on weight loss and cardiovascular risk factors: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials". Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes (Systematic review). 7 (6): 815–27. doi:10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.113.000723. PMID   25387778.
  11. ↑ Slavin JL (March 2005). "Dietary fiber and body weight". Nutrition (Review). 21 (3): 411–8. doi:10.1016/j.nut.2004.08.018. PMID   15797686.
  12. ↑ "The South Beach Diet Review". Webmd.com. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  13. ↑ Arthur Agatston. The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss. Rodale, 5 April 2003. ISBN   9781579546465
  14. ↑ Bijlefeld M, Zoumbaris SK (2014). Celebrity Doctors (2nd ed.). ABC-CLIO. pp. 127–128. ISBN   978-1-61069-760-6.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  15. 1 2 3 4 Alex Witchel (14 April 2004). "Doctor Wants 'South Beach' To Mean Hearts, Not Bikinis". The New York Times .
  16. 1 2 Allison Adato (26 April 2004). "Life's a South Beach". People .
  17. 1 2 "Diet Wars – Interview With Author Agatston, Author of the South Beach Diet". Frontline . 8 August 2004.
  18. ↑ Is Your TV Making You Fat?, WebMD
  19. ↑ Jefferey A. Trachtenberg (30 June 2004). "Diet Book Found Novel Ways to Get To Top – and Stay". The Wall Street Journal .
  20. ↑ Philip Sherwell (3 October 2010). "Bill Clinton's new diet: nothing but beans, vegetables and fruit to combat heart disease". The Daily Telegraph .
  21. 1 2 Dawn Jackson Blatner for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Book Review: The South Beach Diet Super Charged
  22. 1 2 3 Beckerman, Josh (18 December 2015). "Nutrisystem Buys South Beach Diet Brand". Wall Street Journal.
  23. ↑ "South Beach Diet –Trademark of Agatston, Arthur S. – Registration Number 3213757 – Serial Number 76548397". Justia. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  24. 1 2 "Nutrisystem 10k for FY 2015". SEC EDGAR. 31 December 2015.
  25. ↑ "SBD Enterprises, LLC: Private Company Information". Bloomberg. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  26. ↑ Miller, Korin (17 December 2018). "The South Beach Diet Just Launched A New Keto Program That Sounds Pretty Awesome". Women's Health. Retrieved 27 November 2019.

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