Banana diet craze hits Japan

The banana diet craze that's hit Japan

Bananas have sold out across Japan after the latest food craze, the banana diet, has swept across the country.

Supermarkets in the country are struggling to keep up with the demand for the fruit after a stream of diet books and television programmes have hailed the fruit a new superfood that aids weight loss. The recent surge has seen sales of bananas rise to a whopping 70% in the last week alone, forcing supermarkets to increase their prices and importers to up their orders.

A spokesman for Dole Japan Company, the biggest banana importer in the country, said: 'It's the first time bananas have been quite so scarce.'

The banana fad began earlier this year in March, following the publication of diet book Morning Banana Diet, which claims eating just bananas and drinking room temperature water for breakfast aids weight loss – in spite of what one consumes throughout the rest of the day.