Q.Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Meera, a 16-year-old student, wants to lose weight before her school function. She reads on social media that carbohydrates make you fat and that skipping breakfast speeds up weight loss. She cuts her intake to about 900 kcal a day, eats no cereals at all, and drinks only a juice 'cleanse' at lunch. Within ten days she has lost 3 kg, but she feels dizzy, tires quickly in her PE class, and complains of constipation. Her friend tells her the weight will come straight back the moment she eats normally again.

Meera is a 16-year-old whose body is still growing, which makes her very low-calorie plan especially risky; each sub-part is answered below.

(i) She has adopted a Very Low-Calorie Diet (VLCD) - a crash/fad diet defined by an intake of roughly less than 800-1000 kcal per day. Her ~900 kcal/day fits this definition.

(ii) Two myths she believed: (1) "Carbohydrates make you fat" - in fact weight gain comes from excess total calories, and complex carbohydrates give steady energy and fibre; (2) "Skipping breakfast speeds up weight loss" - in fact it usually increases later hunger and overeating.

(iii) By eating only ~900 kcal, her body senses starvation and lowers its metabolic rate (metabolic adaptation). When she eats normally again, her slowed metabolism turns even a moderate intake into a surplus stored as fat, so the 3 kg lost in ten days returns. …

Meera is only 16 - a growing adolescent whose body needs adequate energy, protein and micronutrients for growth and daily activity - which makes a severely restricted diet especially risky for her.

(i) Type of diet and its calorie level

Meera has adopted a Very Low-Calorie Diet (VLCD), a crash or fad diet defined by an intake of roughly less than 800-1000 kcal per day. Her intake of about 900 kcal a day falls squarely in this band.

(ii) Two food myths and the correct facts

1. Myth: "Carbohydrates make you fat." Fact: carbohydrates are the body's main energy source. Weight gain comes from an excess of total calories, whatever the source - not from carbohydrate itself. Complex carbohydrates from whole grains and cereals supply steady energy and fibre, so cutting them out entirely removes essential nutrients.
2. Myth: "Skipping breakfast speeds up weight loss." Fact: skipping breakfast often backfires, increasing hunger later and leading to overeating. A balanced breakfast provides morning energy and helps regulate appetite through the day.

(iii) Why the weight is likely to return - metabolic adaptation

By cutting to about 900 kcal, Meera's body reads the shortfall as near-starvation and defends itself through metabolic adaptation (adaptive thermogenesis): her basal metabolic rate falls, so she burns fewer calories at rest and in activity. Part of her rapid 3 kg loss in ten days is also water and lean tissue, not just fat. When she returns to normal eating, her slowed metabolism burns fewer calories than before, so even a moderate intake becomes a surplus that is stored as fat - the classic "yo-yo" rebound her friend predicts.

(iv) Two harmful effects already visible, with their nutritional cause …