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Very Low-Calorie Diets: Saint or Sinner?

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Controversies in Obesity

Abstract

Very low-calorie diets (VLCDs) have courted controversy since their invention in the 1920s, when the original “last chance diet” seemed to cause premature young deaths due to an elongation of the QT interval. VLCDs, which induce a mild clinically benign ketosis, are second only to bariatric surgery in achieving substantial weight loss, even in the presence of diabetes. VLCDs are now standardized and nutritionally complete, providing everything required including trace elements and minerals. Not suitable for everyone, with a careful choice of patient, they are now deemed to be a safe and effective diet as long as they are administered under close medical supervision.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Health and Human Performance, 76 Harley Street, London, W1G 7HH, UK

    Debbie R. J. Cook BSc (Hons), NP, Dip

Authors
  1. Debbie R. J. Cook BSc (Hons), NP, Dip
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Correspondence to Debbie R. J. Cook BSc (Hons), NP, Dip .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Watton Place Clinic, Watton-at-Stone, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

    David W. Haslam

  2. Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    Arya M. Sharma

  3. Department of Pathology, Diabetes Complications Research Centre, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Carel W. le Roux

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag London

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Cook, D.R.J. (2014). Very Low-Calorie Diets: Saint or Sinner?. In: Haslam, D., Sharma, A., le Roux, C. (eds) Controversies in Obesity. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2834-2_21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2834-2_21

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-2833-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-2834-2

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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