It's like Atkins never happened. Fewer Canadians are on a diet now than there were three years ago, according to a report by the NPD Group, a marketing information company that advises the food industry.
Their 2006 Eating Patterns in Canada (EPIC) report, out this week, found that after a 3-per-cent rise in dieting from 2003 to 2005 -- the low-carb heyday -- the percentage of adults on a diet in 2006 fell to the pre-2003 norm of 16 per cent.
Just as the low-cholesterol and low-fat diet trends came and went in the 1980s and early 1990s, the low-carb movement has officially petered out. Last year, fewer than 1 per cent of Canadians were on a self-prescribed low-carb diet, down from 8 per cent in 2004.
"Each time there's a claim of being able to lose weight fast and easily, we see these spikes," says Marion Chan, the director of food and beverage research at NPD. "Consumers are stuck in their habits. Anything that takes them out of that day-to-day is a lot of work for them. Which is why they can't stay on a diet for more than a month, which tends to be the average time spent on a diet."
Those who tried Atkins, or its many offshoots, have probably come to the realization that eating right and exercising are the only ways to lose weight and keep it off.
"People don't want to hear it because eating right and exercising for the most part requires changing your behaviour long-term."
As with many trends, boomers are at the forefront. Chan says that while those 40 to 60 have a higher rate of dieting than the rest of the population, the figure is dropping.
She says boomers are becoming more aware of what it takes to become healthy. As a result, fewer boomers are being put on medically prescribed diets by their doctors.
Still, a fairly consistent 40 per cent of Canadians would like to lose 20 pounds (interestingly, she says that figure has declined in the United States, as acceptance of the overweight is on the rise), but they don't consider dieting to be the answer.
"They're thinking more long-term," she says, veering toward low-fat or low-sodium instead of items devoid of those ingredients.
"They know if you take those things out completely, it's going to compromise on taste." Watch for this news, in turn, to affect your choices at the grocery store.
Based on this research, Chan is now telling food manufacturers and retailers, "Be careful that the next fad diet that comes along you don't want to jump on the bandwagon. . . . Just try to find a low-carb product on the shelf today."
