What Is the Duke Diet?

Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, is home to one of the world's leading weight loss centers. The Duke University Diet and Fitness Center was founded in 1969 to treat obesity as both a medical and behavioral condition. The program administered at the center is based on five key components, in what the staff calls "an immersion approach to lifestyle change."

Program Core

The program has five pillars at its core: nutrition, fitness, behavioral health, medical management and lifestyle coaching. Patients work with dietitians and personal trainers to achieve a healthy eating and exercise routine, as well as learn new ways of managing both. Behavioral therapists and physicians work together to monitor progress and discuss the psychological and physical causes and effects of eating. Support groups and personal coaches provide alumni with a forum for problem solving, sharing and celebrating after the residency is complete.

Program Length

The Duke Diet and Fitness Center's Four-Week Program is the recommended course of action for prospective patients. The four-week program includes an intense exploration of the program's core components, small group seminars and lectures, and meals. As of the date of publication, the program cost between $6,825 and $7,525. The center also offers five-day and two- and three-week programs.

Online Option

The Duke Diet and Fitness Center also lends its name and theories to an online weight loss program at DukeDiet.com. The Duke Diet and Fitness Online Weight-Loss Program provides daily meal strategies and fitness plans by email, as well as an online platform for support. The online system provides a weight tracker, recipe bank, food log, calorie calculators and a guide to eating out.

Success Rate

The Diet and Fitness Center's website reports that patients lose approximately 5 percent of their initial body weight during the four-week residential program, while exhibiting improved cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure measurements. Eighty percent of the program's graduates maintain their weight loss within one year of completion.

Reviews

Forbes.com named the Duke Diet and Fitness Center one of the top eight weight loss spas in the world, calling it "the place to go for no-frills weight loss." The website lauded the center's effectiveness and its graduates' ability to maintain the weight loss long after their stay.

3 Fat Chicks on a Diet is one of the most popular diet review websites on the Internet. Its staff offers positive reviews of the Duke Diet's online component, stating: "This diet is especially effective for people who get motivated by others and have behavioral concerns that prevent them from losing weight. The integrated approach in changing lifestyle patterns works very well to help participants keep weight off."