There are lots of diet plans out there – Atkins, GI, Weight Watchers, South Beach and so on – but would you actually recommend any of them?
B Northcliffe, Darlington

Diet plans aren’t bad by definition – it really does depend on the diet. For example, you should always avoid diets that eliminate whole food groups, such as the ones that tell you to cut out all carbohydrates or ditch all dairy products. Their extreme nature may achieve fast results but they come at a price because your unbalanced diet will lack essential nutrients, which may result in nutritional deficiencies. Instead look for diet plans that are based on sensible healthy eating principles with realistic expectations.

Permanent weight loss should be achieved slowly, through a combination of healthy eating and exercise, but it also demands a certain amount of willpower. If a diet plan sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Remember, fad diets with outlandish promises are great for selling books, magazines and newspapers, but they’re unlikely to offer better long-term weight loss than the tried-and-tested formula of eating healthily and exercising.