Weight Loss Program Review

Diet plans: Best testing and clinical analyses

When it comes to the best weight-loss programs, there's no better way to sort fact from fiction than a long-term medical study. These studies make for dense reading, but they are the best sources of unbiased information on diet plans. Not all of the popular diets have been subjected to long-term clinical studies. In fact, most have not -- a major cause for complaint by the Federal Trade Commission. But we found solid research for Weight Watchers, the Atkins Diet, the Zone, Slim-Fast, Rosemary Conley, Dean Ornish and Volumetrics from the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Archives of Internal Medicine, the New England Journal of Medicine, Obesity: A Research Journal and others.

Looking at the new medical studies alongside older ones gave us a clear picture of the dieting landscape. We found comparative studies of low-carb versus low-fat and Mediterranean diets, a quality comparison of the nutritional components in eight popular plans, comparisons of Internet-based approaches to weight loss/maintenance versus traditional methods, and in-depth studies of Weight Watchers and Atkins.

In reviews published in the mainstream press, Consumer Reports gave us the best comparative analysis, evaluating eight mainstream diet plans along with reviews of seven diet books. Ratings are included, and editors check whether each conforms to the latest United States Department of Agriculture dietary guidelines. Diets that deviate from standard USDA nutritional guidelines, such as Ornish and Atkins, are penalized by Consumer Reports. However, those guidelines are from 2005 and in recent studies, these diets have been found to be effective and safe for weight loss by the Journal of the American Dietetic Association and the New England Journal of Medicine, respectively. The Journal of the American Dietetic Association study also found the USDA Food Guide Pyramid to recommend levels of sodium above the American Heart Association's daily allowance. By weighing experts' general recommendations for dieting strategies against specific evaluations of popular weight-loss programs, we were able to formulate our ConsumerSearch Best Reviewed picks.

From our research, we did uncover a couple of facts that apply across the board. First of all, exercise is a key component of successful weight loss for most dieters. In fact, increased physical activity can be a successful way to lose weight even without calorie restrictions. And making exercise a key component of one's lifestyle helps keep the weight off. Secondly, dieters who engage in long-term support, either in person or online, have a better chance of maintaining their weight loss than those who do not. While websites like eDiets.com have features that provide support, Weight Watchers is king when it comes to face-to-face meetings, and clinical studies show that in-person meetings trump Internet-based support when it comes to initiating and maintaining weight loss.

Among recent trends, The Mediterranean Diet and variations thereof are becoming accepted as a safe and healthy alternative to the traditional low-fat diet recommendation. Low-glycemic diets also get several picks in the reviews we read. And the oft-vilified Atkins may be onto something --the same two-year New England Journal of Medicine study that shows a Mediterranean diet to be an effective alternative to low-fat diets found that low-carb diets are also more effective for weight loss and heart-disease prevention than low-fat diets. While the low-carb diet that the study participants followed was based on Atkins, participants were advised to choose vegetarian sources of fat and protein and to avoid trans fats.

The Atkins Diet is opposed by the American Dietetic Association, the American Medical Association, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health. This is mainly because the Atkins plan is far outside the realm of traditional dietary advice, and the long-term effects of a high-fat diet on cardiac health are still unknown. Plenty of experts now say that low-carb diets are safe, at least in the short term, except for people with kidney problems. Our research found that low-carb diets yield faster weight-loss results than traditional diets and reduce cholesterol. In the long term, low-carb dieters, like adherents of other diets, are just as likely to lose weight if they stick to their diet, and also just as likely to gain it back when they stop the plan. All of the medical studies we found concluded with the same advice: The best diet is one that you can stick to.

In research studies, Weight Watchers easily gets the best ratings for long-term success. That's not because its overall plan is significantly better or worse than others. Rather, Weight Watchers' foundation for group meetings and support leads to a far lower dropout rate, and its flexible eating plan allows participants to eat what they like in moderation. In repeated studies, participants were able to stick with Weight Watchers for a longer period of time. Other types of diets, such as Slim-Fast (which involves prepackaged foods but no group support) had a lower dropout rate in the short term, but after four or six months, participants dropped out just as much as with other diets. Note that diet pills are generally found to be ineffective; see the ConsumerSearch report on diet pills for more information.