A TOP US professor is restricting his diet to fatty foods, chocolate and cakes in a bid to lose weight and disprove the belief that junk food is simply bad for you.

Kansas State University professor Mark Haub is embarking on a 30-day diet which he says will “bring to light some of the issues with obesity, our understanding of health.”

Haub says he wants to show that foods known to ruin diets may actually not have that effect and the professor, who began his diet on August 25, will be recording his efforts on Facebook.

Breakfast pizza, chocolate cake, donuts and cereal are all part of the professor’s diet, which will see him consume 1,800 calories a day.

Four days in, the professor had already lost seven pounds (half a stone).

“It’s portion controlled. I’m eating foods that are deemed by many to be unhealthy; we will see if they are,” he said.

“I’m not doing ‘Super Size Me’, where I’m eating until I’m stuffed or overeating until I regurgitate, as Morgan Spurlock did with his documentary,” Haub said.

“The purpose is to illustrate metabolic, mental and sociological issues surrounding weight. The principle is simple: eat fewer kilocalories than I expend.”

And while the professor doesn’t deny that the diet could harm his health he says it’s easy on the pocket. “It’s very inexpensive and I get all of my calories for about five bucks a day,” he said. “I am not promoting this or recommending it;  it’s just an exercise in nutrition”.

To illustrate his point, Haub intends to put his weight back on by eating fruits and vegetables at the end of his 30-day binge.