Kimkins
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Kimkins is an online ultra-low calorie diet program created by Heidi Kimberly Diaz under the pseudonym Kim 'Kimmer' Drake that became famous in 2007 in the magazine Woman's World. The program became embroiled in controversy when it was found that its founder was obese and had provided false testimonials on her website. Diaz has since been sued. The diet is also a source of concern due to its damaging health effects.
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[edit] Overview
Kimkins is a low-carbohydrate diet that emphasizes lean protein, consuming less 1,000 calories, 20 grams of carbohydrates per day from vegetables and does not allow fruit, nuts or most milk products. While promoting the diet, Diaz communicating as "Kimmer" refused to be interviewed in person and did not provide her real name.[1]
The diet was developed by Diaz on an online message board focusing on low-carbohydrate diets in 2002. Diaz left the board in 2006 to start Kimkins with a partner, and in January, 2007 People featured a column on extreme weight loss that mentions Kimkins.[1] The program gained popularity when Woman's World published a feature on the diet and its creator 'Kim Drake' (one of numerous aliases used by Diaz) in their June 12, 2007 issue.[2] In August 2007, considerable negative coverage of the diet began appearing on the internet, particularly in the form of blogs and several of the site's administrators were fired after publicly questioning the diet. In September, 2007 a private investigator was hired to investigate Diaz, exposing her real identity as well as publishing numerous photos demonstrating that she was considerably overweight.[1]
Despite being promoted as drawing upon the Women's World nutritional experts to create the diet's menu and eating plan, the diet appears to lack any endorsements from any nutritional experts. In February, 2008 Women's World issued a retraction and apologized to its readers for publishing inaccurate information provided by Diaz.[2]
[edit] Law suit
A class action lawsuit was launched against the website in March, 2008 after it was revealed that the diet's creator was a 300-pound woman named Heidi Diaz who was promoting the diet under the pseudonym Kim 'Kimmer' Drake. During investigations for the suit it was found that the website took in $1,200,000 during the month of June, 2007 alone.[2] It also was revealed that the post-weight loss photos were taken from a mail-order bride website rather than actually representing someone who actually had undertaken the diet.[3] Numerous testimonials on the website were falsified, and several of the website employees have been fired for questioning the safety of the diet.[1][2][4]
[edit] Potential health problems
The diet presents many potential health problems. The plan has been described as a "starvation diet" that involves consuming only 500 calories per day and promotes the use of laxatives to replace missing dietary fiber.[1][2] It provides insufficient vitamins and dietary minerals to maintain health, recommending supplements instead, and does not incorporate any essential fatty acids. While most very low calorie diets are recommended being undertaken while closely supervised by a physician, Kimkins does not suggest this.[1]
Side effects have been associated with the diet, including hair loss, amenorrhea and palpitations.[4]
[edit] Consumer concerns
Members of the website have been banned if they disagreed with Diaz online, people who fail to lose weight quickly have been blamed for not adhering to the diet strictly enough and Diaz has encouraged people to continue following the plan despite showing signs of eating disorders.[1] The diet won an award for "Worst Product for 2008" from the website healthyweight.net.[3]
The Los Angeles Better Business Bureau gave the company a rating of "F", which means they "strongly question the company’s reliability for reasons such as that they have failed to respond to complaints, their advertising is grossly misleading, they are not in compliance with the law’s licensing or registration requirements, their complaints contain especially serious allegations, or the company’s industry is known for its fraudulent business practices."[5]
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g Dolson, L (2009-02-09). "The Kimkins Diet Controversy: Kimkins Diet Description and Dangers". About.com. http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/populardietplans/a/kimkinsdiet.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
- ^ a b c d e Wood, D (2008-02-25). "Kimkins Diet Rolls On Despite Founder's Excess Poundage: No starvation diet for "the Kimmer"". Consumer Affairs. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/02/kimkins.html. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
- ^ a b Berg, F. "20 years of Slim Chance Awards: 1989 to 2008". http://www.healthyweight.net/fraud1.html. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
- ^ a b "Online Diet Comes Under Scrutiny: Former Dieters Have Sued Kimkins for False Advertising". ABC News. 2008-01-20. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=4162053&page=1. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
- ^ "BBB Reliability Report for Kimkins". Better Business Bureau. http://www.la.bbb.org/BusinessReport.aspx?CompanyID=100055868. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- "Kimkins" Diet Fraud Unmasked by Stephen Barrett at Casewatch.org
