Popular Fad Diets - Why Are They Popular (Part 1)
Friday, October 3rd, 2008Have you ever noticed that many of the popular fad diets run counter to common sense? These fad diets are so outrageous in their claims and they use all sorts of techniques to get you to buy them.
It is time to take a look at the underlying psychological reasons why fad diets become popular, even if they defy sound logic and reason. This article will feature just a brief overview of some of these psychological reasons, and we will go into further depth on the subjects which appeal to the largest numbers of readers.
In no particular order, here are some of the psychological factors behind popular fad diets which may not be beneficial to you:
- The “I am on your side and the government is out to kill you” phenomenon
Why this notion that anything the government does is evil and some random guy who stands out suddenly becomes a folk hero is an interesting phenomenon. Maybe it has to do with too many “X Files” shows, too many infomercials featuring “secret insiders” from the FDA, or other such themes. Remember that the recommendations made by these people almost always have a commercial interest behind them. You have to buy their system, their supplements, attend their seminars, etc.
If you take 5 minutes to examine the business models behind many of the fad diets you will notice something interesting. They leverage media to spread out their message, they make easy claims, and they usually have a multi-step system for you to purchase. From the “free CD or DVD”, to the lowly physical book, to the internet membership site (with monthly fees), to seminars, to clothing items, etc. these popular fad diets offer an opposite to government recommendations… usually costing you much more money!
It is true that the FDA allows high fructose corn syrup in ingredients while the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommend cutting out that ingredient (http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/obe/obe_treatments.html). This alone should not be enough for you to throw the baby out with the bath water. If you want some basic, albeit “boring” recommendations for getting in shape and losing fat then spend 30 minutes on the FDA and NIH websites. You might be shocked at how useful the government can be!
This leads to the second phenomenon of why popular fad diets become that way:
- The average person only values what he or she pays for in terms of time and/or money
If I gave every overweight person in the U.S. the magic secret to become 10 pounds leaner in 2 weeks, for free, chances are that I would make an impact on no more than 10-15% of the population. This is because people, for some weird reason, do not value sound information given for free.
However if I charged the same overweight people in the U.S. 10% of their annual incomes for the “magic secret” of getting 10 pounds leaner in 2 weeks, I would affect a significantly higher percentage of people because they made a financial investment/commitment to their causes. The information, however, would be EXACTLY the same!
Popular fad diets bank on this psychological phenomenon in people, so they position their businesses that way.
Do you want an easy way to stop being manipulated like the average person? Watch some satirical cartoons like Southpark, the Simpsons, or Family Guy. Watch those scenes where the crowd acts like complete morons, being easily swayed and the individuals showing subservience to the crowd. Watch how the crowd thinks and reacts… and then do the opposite. It’s a good place to start!
This leads to the third psychological phenomenon:
- Social Proof
Have you ever read a testimonial on any web page? Have you seen before/after pictures of an “average person” hyping a supplement? Ever see the “ugly duckling/beautiful swan” makeovers on TV?
These are uses of “social proof,” a psychological trigger used by marketers to show you that someone “just like you” can do this. The psychology is that someone else went before you, so that you can do it too. Most human beings are scared to be “pioneers” when it comes to changing themselves, and they subconsciously want an “authority figure” to tell them what to do. Fad diets bank on these emotions, and structure themselves and their public representatives to be perceived as those authorities.
In a future post you will learn about the hypnotic headlines and other techniques used to convince you that this popular fad diet is the key to solving all of your emotional pain… until the diet fails and the next fad diet comes along promising the same thing!
If you still want a fad diet and an “authority figure” to help you, you might as well go to How To Look Like A Fitness Model and order the information. At least you can e-mail your receipt to the site and get free reports on how to help you reduce the emotional pains in your life; and doing so will make you less likely to be suckered in my the next popular/fad diet such as the “chocolate donut and coffee diet” or some other ridiculous recommendation to separate you from your money… and give you worthless information. At least by following the link above you will get the free report which gives you the tools to fortify your mind, the last “muscle” that fad diet marketers want you to develop!
