Diet trends: The rise and fall of "hot diets" over the last 15+ years

8/12/21 8:00PM

By focusing on holistic wellness, WW is hoping to attach itself to a trend with a lot of longevity — unlike many of the diet trends that have come and gone in the last 20 years.

‍Easy come, easy go

‍One of the original popular diets, the Atkins diet, was still hugely popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, before fading to obscurity beyond 2004, per data from Google Search Trends. The paleolithic, or caveman diet, gained some notoriety in 2011-12, and the ketogenic (keto) diet was probably the most-searched for diet of the last decade, exploding in popularity thanks to endorsements from numerous celebrities, and others, on social media.

Of course, alongside the more extreme "buzzy" diets, there are some much bigger changes happening to our eating habits as well, with more and more people going gluten free, vegetarian or vegan. Tapping into those trends, while still appealing to the widest group of people possible, is going to be quite a challenge for WW — even with Oprah as a figurehead.

Tom Jones1h

The UAE’s OPEC exit will hit the group in the barrels

After just shy of 60 years in OPEC, its membership even predating its status as a nation-state, the United Arab Emirates yesterday announced its shocking departure from the oil production group, effective May 1, as the knock-on effects of the Iran war continue to play out across the Middle East and the energy landscape.

For context, the UAE produces the third-highest amount of oil in the group, per April data and OPEC’s latest set of annual statistics.

According to the cartel’s 2025 Annual Statistical Bulletin, the OPEC group was collectively exporting some 19 million barrels of crude oil a day last year, with the United Arab Emirates accounting for some 14% of that daily output.

UAExit means UAExit

The nation, whose energy minister told Reuters yesterday that the decision was taken “after a careful look at current and future policies related to level of production” and wasn’t made following discussions with any other country, made up a healthy share of the group’s total confirmed crude oil reserves, as well.

Of the 12 nations in the core group, which was founded by just five oil superpowers back in September 1960, only two (Iraq and Saudi Arabia) exported more barrels of crude oil daily, pumping out 3.36 million and 6.05 million barrels, respectively, each day to nations around the world.

For its part, the UAE said it will “continue its responsible role by gradually and thoughtfully increasing production, in line with demand and market conditions,” per the official state news agency. Clearly, the nation now wants a little more control of just how much oil it can pump around the world, with the UAE having to eat a large proportion of lost revenues due to its healthy abundance and OPEC restrictions.