argument top image

What is the best diet for weight loss?
Back to question

The Dukan diet is the best way to lose weight

Dr. Dukan’s diet burns fat by replacing carbohydrates with protein.

Context

With obesity rates skyrocketing worldwide, our health depends on finding a way to lose weight. Over the last 50 years, dozens of fad diets have been purported, but there is continued debate about which is the best one. Determining which one is best will allow the most people to lose the most weight quickly and successfully. This is crucial because obesity carries serious health risks.

The Argument

Low-carbohydrate diets are the best way to lose weight, because reducing or eliminating carbohydrates forces your body to burn fat for fuel.[1]The Dukan Diet is the best of these diets because it keeps weight off long-term and is easy for people to follow. At the beginning of the diet, there are 68 foods with lots of protein and minimal carbohydrates that you can eat.[2] People tend to succeed with this diet because eliminating carbohydrates results in feeling fuller longer since the fat and protein we eat instead is more satisfying.[3] After this first protein-only phase, foods like vegetables are gradually introduced until people are eating with more variety but minimal carbohydrates. This maintains their weight loss.[4] Other low-carbohydrate diets replace carbohydrates with protein and fat, whereas the Dukan Diet reduces fat intake as well. Fat is calorically dense, meaning a small portion has a lot of calories. Therefore, fat reduction reduces calorie intake overall. The lower the calorie intake, the greater the weight loss, so the lowest calorie, low-carbohydrate diet is the most effective. The Dukan Diet is that diet, making it the best way to lose weight.

Counter arguments

The Dukan Diet can help with weight loss but is not effective for reaching one’s ideal weight. One component of it is to calculate one’s “true weight,” which tells you how much weight you should lose on the diet.[5] Anyone who tries to lose more than this is liable to fail with the diet. Other low-carbohydrate diets are better because they give dieters more control. Another reason the Dukan Diet is far from the best is that it has health risks associated with it. Kidney and cardiovascular problems can result from the Dukan Diet, which means a more nutritionally sound low-carbohydrate diet is best[5]. The Dukan diet is a fad diet created in the ’70s, and has both a complicated, strict structure and health risks. Everyone is better off choosing another way to lose weight.

Proponents

Premises

Rejecting the premises

References

  1. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/low-carb-diet/art-20045831
  2. https://www.dukandiet.com/low-carb-diet/4-phases
  3. https://www.verywellfit.com/dukan-diet-review-2242251
  4. https://www.dukandiet.com/low-carb-diet/4-phases
  5. https://www.verywellfit.com/dukan-diet-review-2242251
This page was last edited on Wednesday, 1 Jul 2020 at 17:44 UTC

Explore related arguments