IS ONE WEIGHT LOSS DIET MORE EFFECTIVE THAN OTHERS?
If
you’re trying to lose weight, there’s no shortage of ‘diets’ and weight
loss programs promising impressive results. But is there really one
type of diet that is more effective than others?
A new study published in the April edition of the
British Medical Journal (BMJ) set out to answer this question. The
researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis looking at
the effect of different dietary macronutrient patterns and popular diet
programs on weight loss and improvement of cardiovascular risk factors
in overweight adults. They included 121 randomised controlled trials
involving almost 22 000 subjects. The diets included low fat, low
carbohydrate and popular named diets such as Atkins, Zone, DASH (Dietary
Approaches for Stopping Hypertension) and Ornish.
When
they compared these diets to usual or control diets, low fat (such as
Ornish), low carbohydrate (such as Atkins and Zone) and moderate
macronutrient diets (such as DASH and Mediterranean) all resulted in
moderate weight loss at 6 months but not 12 months. The average weight
loss at 12 months was 2kgs and any differences between the diets are
described as being trivial to small.
At six months,
each of these diets also reduced blood pressure and the low fat and
moderate macronutrient diets reduced levels of ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol.
However, these improvements almost disappeared by 12 months.
The
authors conclude that people wanting to make dietary changes to lose
weight should choose the diet they prefer. This is an important point.
For example, an older study comparing four different diets with
different macronutrient ratios (Atkins, Ornish, Zone and Weight
Watchers) found that weight loss was similar on all four diets and what
predicted success was cutting kilojoules and being able to stick to the
diet.
This new study, and previous research comparing
different diets for weight loss, show us that there are different ways
to achieve the same result – it’s not one size fits all. The key is to
find an eating plan you can adopt for the long-term as this is the only
way to lose weight and keep it off.
Read more:
- Comparison of dietary macronutrient patterns of 14 popular named dietary programmes for weight and cardiovascular risk factor reduction in adults: systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised trials.
- Comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone diets for weight loss and heart disease risk reduction: a randomized trial.
Kate Marsh is an is an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian, Credentialled Diabetes Educator and health and medical writer with a particular interest in plant-based eating and the dietary management of diabetes and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Contact: Via her website www.drkatemarsh.com.au.
