Women are glad to see the back of the cabbage soup diet and celeb workout vids

THE cabbage soup diet and celebrity home workouts have been named among the biggest health fads – that women are glad to see the back of. A study of 2,000 women found a host of once-popular food trends – including the baby food diet – are also among the fads they are glad have fallen out of favour. Some women would even like to leave modern trends in the past Credit: SWNS ‘Clean eating’ is one diet happily left behind by many women Credit: SWNS This is along with fitness trends such as Insanity workouts, hot yoga and the Nintendo Wii Fit. And it’s not just trends of the 90s and 00s, some women would even like to leave modern trends in the past, including tracking everything via wearable tech and cold-water therapy. Sign up for the Health newsletter Thank you! After decades of wellness crazes, 43 per cent of women are now more sceptical about health fads than they used to be, with the biggest reason coming down to women learning that there are no quick wins. Instead, women are now more likely to simply focus on drinking more water (72 per cent) or just walking more (70 per cent). The cabbage soup diet, juice cleanses and celebrity home workouts have been named among the biggest health fads – that women are glad to see the back of. A study of 2,000 women found a host of once-popular food trends – including the baby food diet, grapefruit diet and Atkins diet – are also among the fads they are glad have fallen out of favour. Along with fitness trends such as Insanity workouts, hot yoga and the Nintendo Wii Fit. And it’s not just trends of the 90s and 00s, some women would even like to leave modern trends in the past, including tracking everything via wearable tech and cold-water therapy. After decades of wellness crazes, 43 per cent of women are now more sceptical about health fads than they used to be, with the biggest reason coming down to women learning that there are no quick wins. Photo released 13/09/2026 Credit: SWNS TOP 40 HEALTH AND FITNESS TRENDS WOMEN ARE GLAD TO SEE THE BACK OF: The cabbage soup diet The baby food diet The grapefruit diet SlimFast The Atkins diet The Special K diet Juice cleanses Celebrity fitness DVDs/ classes Keto diets Lemonade diet Tracking everything via wearable tech Cold-water baths/ therapy The caveman diet Acid/ alkaline diets Insanity workouts The Cambridge diet Intermittent fasting Biohacking Paleo diet High-protein diets The 5:2 diet Hot yoga Pole dance fitness Boot camp Six-minute abs Clean eating The ThighMaster Ab rollers The Nintendo Wii Fit Peloton Power/ vibration plates Spin classes/ SoulCycle Zumba Rebounding Power walking Tae Bo CrossFit Boxercise Step aerobics Dancercise Eating more fruit and vegetables (70 per cent), exercising more regularly (61 per cent) or taking vitamins and supplements (45 per cent) were also among the things women would now rather do. Melissa Cohen, head of nutrition at Vitabiotics Wellwoman, which commissioned the research, said: “Some of these health fads were staples in years gone by. “But times have changed and women are now looking at a more holistic approach to wellness and building consistent healthy habits. “We’ve all had the disappointment of trying something that seemed like a quick fix, and often it is the simpler approaches that see the best results. Most read in Health “Simply improving your diet and nutrition, being more active and ensuring you get enough sleep can be all it takes to notice a difference in how you feel.” The study also found 63 per cent of women can’t imagine trying a health and fitness fad now, with 47 per cent of those more concerned about their overall health and wellbeing than trying a quick-fix trend. Others feel fads simply don’t work (46 per cent), are more focused on consistent lifestyle changes now (40 per cent) or prefer to rely on more trusted things (30 per cent). While 73 per cent think women’s approach to health and wellbeing has changed significantly in the last 30 years, as attention has turned to wellness, nutrition, strength and mental wellbeing. It also emerged 51 per cent of women have tried a wellness and fitness fad or trend, with intermittent fasting (29 per cent), the Slim Fast diet (26 per cent) and step aerobics (23 per cent) the most common. Zumba (23 per cent), celeb fitness DVDs and videos (22 per cent) and even the Nintendo Wii Fit (21 per cent) have also been popular. Yet many were left disappointed, with only 51 per cent of those who tried health fads feeling they were even somewhat successful, leaving 21 per cent feeling misled and 20 per cent annoyed. As a result, 54 per cent think their approach to health and fitness trends has changed as they now focus on a more holistic approach to health and wellbeing. But more than half (53 per cent) said they felt this way as social media has made it hard to believe everything you see. The research, carried out via OnePoll, found 62 per cent see their health and wellbeing as “very important”, with two thirds also saying it is more of a focus for them than it was a decade ago. However, as lives get busier, 62 per cent are looking for a simpler approach to health and wellness, with 50 per cent admitting it is often the first thing they drop when they need more time. Melissa Cohen, from Vitabiotics Wellwoman, added: “Women’s lives are getting busier, and it’s often our health and wellbeing that can drop off when things feel a bit fraught. “Making it as simple as possible is key for you to be able to continue being consistent with your health and wellness goals.” Comment now