The flash diet: Taking photos of meals helps slimmers lose weight

Flash diet: A study found people who kept a photographic record of everything they ate lost weight

You've heard of the crash diet - now here comes the flash diet.



A study has shown that slimmers who take photographs of their meals stick more carefully to their diet than others.



By having pictorial evidence of how they have been feeding themselves, dieters have a guilt trip about the quality and quantity of what they are eating.



These photo diaries also make it easy to keep a tab on the number of calories consumed, scientists say.



Many food experts argue that food diaries - where daily consumption is recorded in a notebook - help to stop overeating and snacking.



They are thought to work by shaming the dieting diarist into eating less.



However, keeping the diary is a time-consuming chore many put off until hours after eating.



Now a team of American scientists have compared traditional food diaries with snapshots.



They asked 43 dieters to record what they ate over one week in words and in pictures, New Scientist magazine reports today.



When the researchers quizzed the volunteers, the photo diaries were a far more effective and accurate record of daily calories and a far more powerful disincentive to overeat.



One volunteer told the researchers: 'I had to think more carefully about what I was going to eat because I had to take a picture of it.



'I was less likely to have a jumbo bag of M&Ms. It curbed my choices. It didn't alter them completely but who wants to take a photo of a jumbo bag of M&Ms?'



Another volunteer said the photo diaries actually improved the quality of his diet.



'I noticed that there weren't too many greens in my diet, which means I should try to eat more vegetables and fruits.'



By contrast, the written diaries were usually completed long after each meal and did not provide as powerful a reminder of the size and quality of meals and snacks.



'Overall, the participants demonstrated greater awareness of their diet when viewing the photographs than when reflecting on their written notes,' the researchers said.



Dr Lydia Zepeda, who led the study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said: ' Nutritionists see diaries as recording tools. Now they should explore the role of photo diaries as intervention tools.'



During the study, the volunteers used disposable cameras. But the researchers, who published their findings in the International Journal of Consumer Studies, said digital cameras would give more immediate results.



They added that since digital cameras are a feature on most mobile phones, this method of recording a diet is even more accessible.



Past studies have shown that dieters who make a note of what they eat lose three times as much weight as those who simply try to eat more healthily.



In one study at the University of Pennsylvania, dieters were given a weight-loss plan, told to exercise for 30 minutes every day and monitored for a year.



Those who kept a faithful note lost around 16lb to 18lb. But those who did not keep a diary lost only 6lb on average.



The UK is suffering from an obesity epidemic, with the most overweight population in Europe. Almost a quarter of British adults are classed as obese.



If the trend continues, it is thought a third of adults and a fifth of children will be obese by 2010.

