Unlike the usual superfoods, Slim Pasta doesn’t add anything to your diet; no antioxidants, no vitamins, no enzymes or minerals. It's slimy, chewy and look a bit like space food – but it claims to be the best-selling low calorie pasta in Europe. So why are dieters so keen to slurp down Slim Pasta?

GI, 5:2, paleo, high fibre; there seems to be an endless succession of fad diets, each backed up with a few scientific studies and some devoted fans extolling the virtues of going ‘grain free’. Whole 30 is the latest – a modern version of the paleo. But is it more than a passing craze?

The way people lose weight is changing. Out are the cardboard-tasting diet foods, awkward meet-ups and communal weight shaming, in are the whole foods, digital apps and sexy workout gear. But is dieting really dead? And how are consumer attitudes towards wellness changing?

The way people lose weight is rapidly changing and Weight Watchers is feeling the effects. With net operating income almost halving between 2012 and 2014 – from $510 million to $273 million – the weight loss pioneer is having to adapt to broader shifts in attitudes to losing weight.