ABSTRACT
Most serious dieters have lost count of the new diets they have read about in magazines and newspapers. Many of these diets are a variation on a theme; nearly all promise immediate success. So popular is diet news that it is an easy matter to obtain media coverage on almost any novel idea, however trivial. Often on a Sunday, a quality newspaper devotes space to reporting the launch of a new diet such as the ‘Champagne diet’, claimed by its author to have fat-metabolizing properties which help to speed weight loss. 1
