Dieting: Encyclopedia II - Dieting - What dieting is not

Dieting - What dieting is not

Dieting, at least for the purposes of this article, is following a diet to lose weight. Other reasons for following a diet include religious and psychological motives and the pursuit of athletic prowess.

Certain religions (such as Judaism, Hinduism and Islam) impose strict restrictions on food choices and preparation, in accordance with edict and tradition. Following traditional diets is not dieting per se, but these diets may be modified for weight-loss purposes.

Vegetarianism is typically adopted for spiritual or ethical reasons, when other food choices are not available, or as a matter of personal taste. Vegetarian diets designed in accordance with frugal lifestyles can, however, be useful for losing weight.

Anorexia and bulimia are psychological (and possibly neurological) disorders whose victims endanger their lives through calorie restriction. Such behavior is not dieting in any normal (i.e., personally or socially useful) sense.

Weight-gain diets, such as are followed by many young men wishing to be (or appear to be) physically stronger, may be laudable; but the these diets' purpose is the opposite of dieting.

Dieting - Special diets for medical conditions

Medical conditions often require the following of special diets for other purposes than losing weight. Each of these such diets will specifically include or exclude or regulate certain chemicals (and the foods that contain them). For example, a person who has diabetes is often on a diet designed to carefully manage their blood sugar level. (Sufferers of celiac disease must follow a gluten-free diet, the lactose-intolerant are advised to omit milk products, and people with kidney disease must follow a strict low-sodium diet to ease the strain on their kidneys.)

Treatment of mild hypertension includes adhering to a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in fat and sodium. This diet may be tailored to focus on weight loss if that is necessary to control blood pressure.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "What dieting is not", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki