Low-carbohydrate diets are everywhere. Pick up a bag of Doritos, your favorite brand of yogurt or even a can of pop and you're bound to run into it.

The senseless diet that would have its followers eat pork rinds instead of fruit, cheese instead of bread and bacon instead of sweet potatoes, has gone too far.

Fear the carb.

Please, fear the foods that give you energy, nutrition and sustenance.

Studies have shown that people looking to lose pounds faster than you can say "fatty" stick with a low-carb diet.

There is no point to this low-carb diet, yet it is taking over American foods while we become an increasingly obese country.

Low-carb diets are a quick-fix to end weight issues that end up lasting a lifetime.

According to Karen Collins, a registered dietitian for msnbc.msn.com, "One year from starting (to diet), there is no significant difference in the weight loss achieved by people on low-carb diets and those on conventional low-fat, low-calorie diets. These reports suggest that once the six-month mark has passed, many people on low-carb diets begin to regain weight they have lost."

The infection of low-carb dieting has even crept its way into America's fast-food restaurants.

Arby's, my most cherished fast-food joint, introduced its ridiculously named "Low Carby's" item menu.

It's a fast-food restaurant. What are you doing trying to market to dieters? People go to your facilities to clog their arteries after hard drinking or to satisfy those late-night cravings.

Fried carbs (yummy french fries) and sauces (delicious mayonnaise) in the double digits of fat grams swim in our system to satisfy the sinful glutton within us all.

It's OK to satisfy that craving, but don't swing through Mickey D's three times daily or eat a family-sized box of Bagel Bites and consider that your afternoon snack.

What people need to do more than cut their carbs is cut a rug. The best way to lose weight is to move.

The unquestionably underrated band Eiffel 65 said it best in the hit "Move your body."

Exercise leads to good health, both mentally and physically.

According to fitnessusa.com, there are these little things called endorphins that elevate your mood when you move.

"Endorphins attach themselves to specific receptor sites in the brain that affect our perception of well-being and, in the extreme, euphoria," the site says.

Their main purpose is to help the body withstand and overcome mild to severe exertion. It's the body's reward for doing something healthy, like exercise."

The coach of one of the greatest athletes in the world actually may have said it better than Eiffel 65.

Chris Carmichael, the coach of six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, said in an interview with Outside magazine that "in" diets are crap.

"You can't just cut carbs - or cut protein or fat, for that matter - like every trendy diet has for the last 20 years," he said. "That's dysfunctional. You need them all. To simply blame a food type for us being fat is bull … ."

Pointing the finger at everything but ourselves is the issue. Americans seem to have omitted the word moderation from our vocabulary and replaced it with the words super-size, biggy and double bacon cheeseburger.

Although the low-carb diet has good intentions, having the will power to adhere to a well-balanced diet and getting off the couch for a reason other than heading to the kitchen will get you the results you're seeking.

Leah Singer is the MS&U general assignment reporter. She can be reached at singerle@msu.edu