Diet with very or extremely low daily food energy consumption
A very-low-calorie diet (VLCD), also known as semistarvation diet[1] and crash diet,[2][3][4][5][6][7] is a type of diet with very or extremely low daily food energy consumption. VLCDs are defined as a diet of 800 kilocalories (3,300 kJ) per day or less.[8][9] Modern medically supervised VLCDs use total meal replacements, with regulated formulations in Europe and Canada which contain the recommended daily requirements for vitamins, minerals, trace elements, fatty acids, protein and electrolyte balance. Carbohydrates may be entirely absent, or substituted for a portion of the protein; this choice has important metabolic effects.[10][11] Medically supervised VLCDs have specific therapeutic applications for rapid weight loss, such as in morbid obesity or before a bariatric surgery, using formulated, nutritionally complete liquid meals containing 800 kilocalories or less per day for a maximum of 12 weeks.[8][12][13][14]
Unmonitored VLCDs with insufficient or unbalanced nutrients can cause sudden death by cardiac arrest either by starvation or during refeeding.[15][16]
^Ahmed, W; Flynn, MA; Alpert, MA (April 2001). "Cardiovascular complications of weight reduction diets". The American Journal of the Medical Sciences (Review). 321 (4): 280–4. doi:10.1097/00000441-200104000-00007. PMID11307868.
^Bonet, Anna (28 November 2018). "Are crash diets ever a good idea for weight loss?". Netdoctor. 'A crash diet is typically a very low-calorie diet, where you eat a very restrictively for a short period of time,' explains Registered Dietician, Helen Bond.
^Holderbaum, M; Casagrande, DS; Sussenbach, S; Buss, C (February 2018). "Effects of very low calorie diets on liver size and weight loss in the preoperative period of bariatric surgery: a systematic review". Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases (Systematic review). 14 (2): 237–244. doi:10.1016/j.soard.2017.09.531. PMID29239795.
^Cite error: The named reference Thom2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Howard AN (1981). "The historical development, efficacy and safety of very-low-calorie diets". International Journal of Obesity. 5 (3): 195–208. PMID7024153.