Expert warns against baby food fad

IRISH women have been warned the baby food diet taking Hollywood by storm could trigger an eating disorder.

The controversial diet, reportedly followed by svelte stars like Lady Gaga and Reese Witherspoon, has grown women tucking into pots of infant food.

Gaga is being credited as the main influence behind a dramatic increase in the sales of Heinz creamed porridge in Britain as bikini season gets under way.

But the Director of the Eating Disorder Resource Centre of Ireland, Suzanne Horgan, has warned Irish slimmers that Gaga’s “goo” diet could spark dangerous eating habits in young people.

“It could end up triggering over-eating or binge-eating because the body is craving nutrients.

“It’s the latest trend to hit Hollywood but what a baby needs and what an adult needs are completely different.

“Young people are genuinely vulnerable and genuinely concerned about weight gain and they look to the film stars.

“Some of the celebrities are eating babyfood as way of losing weight or not eating proper portions.”

The diet was reportedly invented by Tracy Anderson, the personal trainer to Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna, but nutritionists say it doesn’t deliver enough fibre or nutrients for adults.

Ms Horgan said: “This is another trend and another form of eating behaviour which is going to create a flawed relationship with food.

“People who follow the diet are going to be losing out on vital nutrients.

“Anything that is that restrictive could trigger a person giving in to a craving and eating too much and then panicking and ending up purging it.”

The psychotherapist said Beyonce’s famous maple syrup diet, which she used in preparation for her role in the Oscar-winning Dream Girls, caused worrying developments in some of her patients.

“When Beyonce endorsed the maple syrup diet so many people went on it. I was cringing. She said she had lost a stone in 10 days and people followed her because they wanted her body and her way of life.

“I had one client who downloaded it to lose a stone in 10 days and she already had an eating disorder.

“Binge-eating is the biggest response to people restricting their food for a long time. When someone is not getting enough nutrients the body craves food. These trends come out and people can go mad for them.”

She said the brain needs proper nutrients in order to function properly.

“What a child needs and what an adult needs is so different. Straight away your brain chemistry is compromised.

“You need nutrients for your brain to function properly. It can lead to lots of scenarios. People can end up being impulsive, getting irritable and feel scattered and even possibly suicidal.

A spokesperson for Tesco Ireland said there had been a rise in babyfood meals in recent weeks.

“In Ireland we have seen approximately a 20% increase in the sales of premium babyfood, which would take into account pureed meals such as spaghetti bolognese, etc.

“Interestingly, our sales of normal babyfood such as pureed apple, etc, have remained static over the past few weeks.”