EmailBest Reviewed
Weight Loss Programs
- Best weight-loss program overall Weight Watchers *Est. $20
- Best diet plan with prepackaged food Slim-Fast *Est. $40
- Best diet program for vegetarians Dean Ornish Eat More, Weigh Less *Est. $10
Get info about new reports and updates
- Supports dozens of commercial diet programs
- Access to chat rooms and counselors
- May not be as effective as in-person diet plans
- Lack of transparency about costs and fees
- Hidden charges
A number of professional reviewers recommend eDiets.com, an online weight-loss website, but the site gets much lower marks in user reviews. Some praise it as a convenient option if the idea of the weekly weigh-ins and group meetings at Weight Watchers (*Est. $20 to join, $13 monthly) isn't your cup of tea. EDiets.com supports a number of commercial diet programs; it also provides diet plans for those with special health restrictions and offers access to community features like peer-group chat rooms (*Est. $2 per week) and personal advice from registered nutritional counselors. On the downside, users say eDiets.com can be overwhelming. Its website is busy and ad-heavy, and the service is not very up-front about additional fees or, for that matter, any fees. In addition, many users complain about poor customer service or charges to their credit cards that they weren't expecting.
The eDiets.com weight-loss plan is included in ConsumerReports.org's latest roundup of this category; it is also reviewed by Epicurious.com and owners post comments on Epinions.com and TopDiets.com. Internet weight-loss programs in general are the subjects of an interesting study by The North American Association for the Study of Obesity.
Our Sources
1. ConsumerReports.org
EDiets.com is evaluated and rated by ConsumerReports.org magazine, along with seven other diet plans. All of the plans are assigned a score based on how well they measure up nutritionally to the guidelines established by the 2005 U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Review: Top Diets Reviewed, Editors of ConsumerReports.org, June 2007
2. Obesity: A Research Journal
This study looks at 255 healthy overweight and obese adults who participated in a six-month behavioral weight-control program conducted over interactive TV. Individuals received in-person or Internet support to help control their weight. Both groups had similar results, showing that Internet support may be as effective as face-to-face meetings.
Review: Effect of Internet Support on the Long-Term Maintenance of Weight Loss, Jean Harvey-Berino, et al., 2004
Epicurious.com compares the quality of prepared diet food of five popular weight loss programs: eDiets.com, the Zone, Jenny Craig, NutriSystem and PureFoods. Rankings reflect taste, nutritional content and portion size, among other factors. EDiets.com's freshly prepared (and expensive) food ranks highest, with the Zone coming in second.
Review: Prepared Diet Food: The Good, the Bad and the Unhealthy, Megan O. Steintrager, Heather Tyree, Not Dated
4. Epinions.com
EDiets.com gets mixed reviews at Epinions.com. In over 200 reviews, the site earns an average rating of 3.5 out of five stars. Some love the site and the user community, but a number of users complain about poor customer service and hidden fees. Some of the positive reviews here are a bit fishy.
Review: eDiets -- eDiets.com, Contributors to Epinions.com, As of Jan. 2010
5. TopDiets.com
On this forum, readers can post reviews of diets. EDiets.com receives about a dozen comments. Most say they like the convenience, but some complain about the cost.
Review: Diet Reviews, Contributors to TopDiets.com, As of Jan. 2010
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