'Eat This, Not That': Science or 'Scam'?

Men's Health editor David Zinczenko has made a mint by promising readers washboard abs if they'll only follow the advice he dispenses in his magazine and in his best-selling Abs Diet books.

His newest book, Eat This, Not That, tells them how to avoid the perils of junk food. But does it contain more than the recommended dosage of junk science?

According to this excerpt, the diet plan laid out in Eat This, Not That "is crafted to specifically target belly fat -- by filling you with smart, healthy choices that rev up your resting metabolism and helping you burn away flab all day, every day, even while you sleep."

The promise to "target belly fat" doesn't sit well with some nutrition and weight loss experts.

"I have real doubts about any diet that targets a specific body part," says Ruth Kava, director of nutrition at the American Council on Science and Health, which monitors media for misleading health advice. "Even exercise doesn't reduce specific body fat, though of course it can look that way if muscles get larger. I think you've found a scam!"

Denise Brodey, editor in chief of Fitness, is similarly skeptical. "Our general feeling is that you can't spot-tone and you can't spot-lose," she says, noting that her view is the consensus of the many physicians and researchers Fitness relies on for expert advice.

In certain cases, she says, an extremely poor diet could cause bloating and water retention in the abdomen; in those cases, a change in diet could produce a disproportionate decrease in waist-size. But that kind of weight loss doesn't last, she says. "To claim to the general population that they're going to get a very specific result I don't think is fair."

Diet doctor Michelle May is also dismissive of any promise to "target" a body zone. If there's a truth to Zinczenko's claim, she says, it's likely an incredibly simple one: "Since this book is aimed at men and men tend to gain the bulk of their weight around the middle, they are likely to lose it from there too."

Naturally, Zinczenko disagrees. A spokesman for the editor cited a University of Tennnessee study that found that men who added three servings of yogurt a day to their diets lost 61 percent more body fat and 81 percent more stomach fat over 12 weeks than men who didn't eat yogurt. The spokesman said Eat This, Not That draws from many such studies.

Still, it's safe to say the belly-fat-targeting claim is controversial. In fact, the only expert I found who was willing to take it at face value was controversy-courting science writer Gary Taubes, who's been embroiled in numerous disputes over his belief that carbohydrate -- not fat or lack of exercise -- make people fat.

"Since belly fat is particularly responsive to insulin, I'd have to say that any diet that cuts carbs will work on belly fat," he says, noting that celebrity heart surgeon Mehmet Oz is also on a belly-fat kick.

That said, Taubes adds there's nothing unique about Zinczenko's program. "It always amazes me how one thing every diet book has to say is 'This is not like any other diet book,' or, in Zinczenko's case, 'This is not a traditional diet book.' Then he goes on to tell you to cut carbs and calories. I just wonder how these guys can write these books with a straight face."

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