There have been many diets that have become the new ‘craze’ over the last few years, with many people latching onto them in a desperate effort to drop those additional pounds. Diets such as the Atkins diet and the Weight Watcher’s diet with its points based system for all food, are just two of the main diets that spring to mind. Men typically ‘hit the gym’ more often than resorting to strict dieting in their attempt to drop pounds, whereas it is thought that women will usually try more different methods in order to lose weight. This is backed up by a newly published survey that shows women have roughly tried 61 ‘diets’ by the time they are 45 years old. Remarkably, this equates to nearly 2 diets every year from the age of 16. 2,000 men and women were surveyed in the UK and it was found that over three-quarters had begun on a specific diet in the previous year. However, it was discovered that it was women who had dabbled in a considerable more different eating plans to try and lose weight. However, there are now fears that this strict eating and calorie-counting may be rubbing off on children. 6/10 people quizzed admitted that their children had requested not to be given such healthy foods like fruit and vegetables and potatoes, with these children believing them to be bad for them. In addition, it seems some adults in the poll have an alarming lack of awareness in terms of their nutritional needs.  This is demonstrated in those aged under 26 who seemed to be unaware of the significance of calcium in their diet, despite the intake of it being vital to grow and maintain bones which carry on developing until you are approximately 30 years old. Some good sources for calcium include milk, leafy vegetables, fish and bread. Uneducated adults need to know the importance of calcium in keeping bones stronger later in life and helping to avoid the bone disease Osteoporosis. If children start copying their parents then they could be missing out on vital vitamins and minerals that are needed to help their body grow and become stronger. TV doctor Hilary Jones commented on the latest findings, saying: “An average of 61 diets over an adult lifetime could mean an awful lot of people have cut a significant amount of calcium out of their diet over the years especially if they’ve been avoiding calcium-rich food groups on a regular basis. It seems the British obsession with dieting could be having a detrimental effect on our nutritional intake, as many people lose sight of what constitutes a healthy balanced diet. All breads contribute a range of essential nutrients from protein and calcium to iron and B group vitamins”.