The National Institutes of Health's Medline Plus reports 66 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese. The medical community promotes the health benefits of weight loss, giving rise to an industry worth an estimated $59 billion annually in the United States. With the many types of weight-loss diets available, it is wise to consult your physician about the right program for you.
Low-Fat Diets
Low-fat diets became popular in the 1970s when the Scarsdale Diet came on the scene. These diets strictly limit the consumption of fats, often to 20 percent or less of the total daily caloric intake. The low-fat craze began to wane when research pointed to a variety of factors that contribute to obesity, concluding that fat may not be the sole cause of weight problems. The Mayo Clinic goes so far as to warn dieters that a low-fat diet can lead to weight gain if they limit their fat intake and ignore their overall daily calorie count. Examples of low-fat diet plans include the 80 10 10, Pritikin, Ornish and Rice diets.
Low-Carbohydrate Diets
Weight-loss programs like South Beach and Atkins helped to popularize low-carbohydrate diets in the United States. Low-carb diets restrict the amount of carbohydrates consumed and are often high in protein. Debate exists as to what the percentage of a dieter's daily caloric intake of carbohydrates should be to qualify a diet as low-carbohydrate. Diets that restrict carbohydrate intake to 50 percent or less, however, are usually considered low-carbohydrate. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services warns that eating less than 130 g of carbohydrates per day can lead to a medical condition called ketosis and that the effects of maintaining a low-carbohydrate diet over the long term are unknown.
Low-Glycemic Index Diets
The glycemic index rates foods containing carbohydrates according to how quickly they convert to glucose in the bloodstream. Foods with a low GI rating take longer for the body to absorb, keeping blood glucose levels more constant. Foods with a high GI rating cause spikes in blood glucose levels before the levels plummet back to a normal range. People suffering from diabetes often utilize the glycemic index to help control their blood glucose levels. In healthy people, a simple switch in diet from high-GI foods to low-GI foods often facilitates weight loss. Low-glycemic diets include the South Beach diet, the Glycemic Impact Diet and the Glycemic Load Diet.
Healthy Lifestyle Diets
Rather than follow fad diets that often pack on the pounds when stopped, many people opt to make simple changes to their lifestyles as a healthy, long-term weight-loss and maintenance program. The basic premise is you must burn off more calories than you consume in order to lose weight. One pound of fat is the equivalent to 3,500 calories. In order to lose one pound per week, you must either reduce your caloric intake by 500 calories per day or burn off the calories through physical exercise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 60 to 90 minutes of moderately intensive physical activity most days of the week to help lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.
Lifestyle changes also include changing the way you eat. A healthy diet should include foods from all groups of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food pyramid and avoid saturated fats and simple sugar. Although best known as a food exchange diet program, Weight Watchers offers a new program, Momentum, that promotes a healthy, balanced diet and physical activity.
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