Top-rated diets are easy to follow and provide maximal nutrition with long-term strategies for success. These diets have been tested by medical or nutritional experts in clinical trials and have proven to be effective at getting the weight off and keeping it off. Not all popular programs meet these criteria.
Weight Watchers
Weight Watchers offers a nutritionally sound, flexible program that uses a point system as a guide to food choices. Under the point system, foods are assigned values based on calories, fat and fiber. Following the point system allows you to track your intake while working within a food budget personalized for you. This flexibility means you can include the occasional treat.
Consumersearch.com reviewed a variety of programs and rated Weight Watchers among the top three. According to the American Dietetic Association's news release on Oct. 1, 2007, Weight Watchers scored second among popular diets in a study conducted by the University of Massachusetts. In addition, Good Housekeeping calls Weight Watchers the Best Flexible Program because under the point system you can choose the foods you want.
Weight Watchers' success is partly attributed to its behavioral support component. The New York Obesity Research Center stated in 2003 that Weight Watchers provided greater long-term results than self-help programs.
Volumetrics
The Volumetrics Eating Plan was developed by Dr. Barbara Rolls and is based on many of her research findings conducted at Pennsylvania State University. The goal is to create a feeling of fullness with fewer calories. The diet's strategy is to reduce fat intake while increasing fruit and vegetable intake. Rolls confirmed in a 2007 study, published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," that this is an effective strategy for controlling hunger to lose weight. Incorporating Rolls' published results in "Appetite 2007," the strategy also encourages a soup appetizer prior to meals, which is effective for reducing energy intake. ConsumerReportsHealth.org rates Volumetrics higher than other diet plans based on a review of clinical research.
Eat More, Weigh Less
Eat More, Weight Less was developed by Dr. Dean Ornish, a clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Ornish has directed clinical research for more than 32 years, demonstrating that cardiac disease can be reversed through diet, without drugs or surgery. During an interview in 2004 with PBS's "Frontline," Ornish stated that during these studies participants lost an average of 25 pounds the first year as a side-effect. Ornish's plan follows a very low-fat, vegetarian diet. Food choices include fruits, vegetables, legumes and unrefined soy products. Consumersearch.com rates Eat More, Weigh Less among the top three weight loss programs in its 2009 review, and the American Dietetic Association reports in an October 2007 press release that Ornish's program scored highest in a comparison of popular diets.
Slim-Fast
Slim-Fast is a brand name meal replacement plan. This type of plan is convenient and best for people who don't have time or don't want to cook. You eat a Slim-Fast shake or bar for breakfast and lunch, followed by a low-calorie dinner you prepare. Consumersearch.com rates Slim Fast among the top three diets, while cautioning that it can be costly. ConsumerReportsHealth.org gives it a better-than-average score, placing the program fourth on its list.
References
- Weight Watchers: How Weight Watchers Works
- Consumersearch: Weight Loss Programs: Reviews
- American Dietetic Association: Highlights from the October 2007 Journal of the American Dietetic Association
- Good Housekeeping: Best Diet Websites
- Pubmed: Journal of the American Medical Association: Weight loss with self-help compared with a structured commercial program
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