Every year, a new diet fad offers fresh hope to the overweight. But when the weight returns or refuses to budge, millions of hapless consumers simply jump on the next diet bandwagon. This documentary explores the machinations of media and diet empires that have fed, and continue to feed, off the Western obsession with slim and trim. With a fascinating historical overview of fad dieting, including the meteoric rise of Dr. Robert Atkins, the program looks at the marketing ingredients that go into a successful fad diet and follows one Atkins wannabe and his PR allies as they create the buzz needed for a successful product launch. Strategies undertaken by food companies to cash in on this phenomenon are also studied. Original CBC broadcast title: Diet Confidential. (46 minutes)