Fitness & Diet Trends: Then and Now

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “trend” as a "general direction in which something is developing or changing." The world of fitness is no stranger to trends and fads of its own, some more successful than others. Who recalls the vibrating belt machines of the 1960s or the grapefruit diet? Most of these fads proved ineffective or only temporarily successful, inspiring dieticians, doctors and fitness experts to go back to the drawing board to devise other methods of effective exercise and weight loss.

Increasing obesity rates
According to the 2010 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, a whopping 63 percent of adult Americans are overweight or obese, but as the Boston Globe reported in 2008, only 26 percent of women and 16 percent of men are on diets, which may signal the frustration that many face in attempting regimens that promise quick weight loss, but result in even greater weight gain down the road.

The essentials of maintaining a healthy weight remain unchanged: eat right and engage in a few hours of exercise every week to stay healthy. With busy lifestyles and work schedules, though, many Americans are looking for alternative ways to stay fit without having to resort to expensive face-to-face personal training sessions at the gym or costly fad diets that are hard to stick to.

Online fitness programs
One solution has presented itself in the form of online fitness programs like FitOrbit and GymAmerica, which cost a fraction of in-person personal training sessions at the gym or pricey diet programs, while offering substantial benefits. With FitOrbit, for example, you train at your own leisure, whenever and wherever you want. Your personal trainer serves as a round-the-clock motivation expert, providing you with customized workout and meal plans. The main benefit of online programs -- which are also being embraced by celebrity fitness gurus like Jillian Michaels -- is that you lose weight and work out at your own pace in the comfort of your own home, all without breaking the bank.

Past and present trends
Exercise and diet trends have come and gone over the years, as doctors and fitness trainers have concluded that instead of extreme diets or rigorous workouts, it’s best to cultivate a “healthy lifestyle” -- embracing both moderate exercise and nutritious meal plans. Here's a trip down fitness memory lane, and the current trends that have replaced them:

Then: The grapefruit diet was a hit way back when, promising rapid weight loss by consuming a great many citrus fruits throughout the day. The result? Rapid weight loss initially (mainly water weight, according to experts) followed by inevitable weight gain after one presumably tires of eating all that grapefruit.
Now: The current craze is gluten-free food, which is actually used to treat patients with celiac disease. Popular with a number of celebrities, this diet eliminates gluten, which can be found in foods such as wheat and rye.

Then: Aerobics became the craze in the early '80s, and developed legions of fans who followed in the footsteps of Jane Fonda to group classes in gyms across the nation. “Step” aerobics took off in the late '80s, promising a more rigorous workout by jumping on and off the "step," thereby increasing one's heart rate.
Now: You can’t throw a stone without hitting a Zumba enthusiast these days. The workout is more of a dance routine set to peppy Latin music. Its popularity appears to be based on the idea of revolving a workout around fun dance moves, which feature aspects of Latin dance.

Then: Dr. Robert Atkins hit the jackpot with his revolutionary low-carb Atkins Diet, which no doubt made him a very rich man at the height of the craze (although Atkins Nutritional eventually filed for bankruptcy). The low-carb fad was popular for many years until some health experts started questioning its benefits, and dieters gradually opted for more balanced meal plans.
Now: A new trend comes courtesy of Twitter. Dieters are actually tweeting about their food intake and overall weight-loss progress. The moral of the story is: Would you really eat that gallon of ice cream and then tweet about it to others? Probably not.

Then: Commercials featuring Suzanne Somers and the Thigh Master bombarded TV sets in the '90s. The small, simple contraption was designed to exercise your lower and upper body, and proved to be a hit -- it’s still on the market and has inspired copycat versions.
Now: Bikram or ‘hot’ yoga studios are springing up everywhere. Hot yoga requires a sequence of 26 postures. The catch is that you do this in a hot room --at a temperature of 105 Fahrenheit -- which, according to founder Bikram Choudhury, helps make the body more flexible.