Posh Spice Diet?
Posted: Monday, August 06, 2007 8:45 AM by Noah Oppenheim
This morning we took a look at Skinny B*tch, a diet book that rocketed to the top of the bestseller lists after Victoria Beckham, aka “Posh Spice,” was photographed carrying a copy. It’s a craze I find ridiculous from top to bottom.
First, Beckham has since issued a statement saying she was only holding the book because she found the title amusing. She didn’t buy it, and, in a statement, her publicist has implied it amounts to a “fad diet.”
Second, the women who wrote the book have what seems to be a very limited expertise. The most qualified has something called a Masters of Science in Holistic Nutrition from someplace called Clayton College of Natural Health. While she calls herself a “Nutritional Consultant” she is not a Licensed Nutritionist, the generally accepted credential of expertise in this area. Her co-author is a former Ford Model Agent. Which is nice, but last I checked, being around skinny people hardly makes one an authority on how they got that way.
So, to sum up, thousands of women are now buying a diet book because they think Victoria Beckham has endorsed it. But, she hasn’t. And, they probably presume the authors of said book are medically trained dieticians. But, they aren’t. And all these women are now killing themselves to follow a rather draconian vegan diet based on these misconceptions.
In fairness, I’m skeptical of pretty much any diet associated with a gimmicky name and a for-profit book. It seems to me almost every respectable physician will tell you the same thing. Losing weight is a simple matter of burning more calories than you consume. Which can be accomplished by exercising more, or consuming less.
Sound good? Now, all I need is a catchy title and Victoria Beckham…
Noah Oppenheim is a Senior Producer at TODAY.
