2008 Woodie Awards
Most popular diet plans not always most effective
by Brittany Talarico
Issue date: 10/12/07 Section: News
Weight-loss plans are popular in today's society. Doctors and nutritionists are continuously developing new diets, feeding the consumer desire to be thin. Despite the multitude of options, however, most dieters remain ignorant of the nutritional aspects of the plans they have chosen.
A new study conducted at the University of Massachusetts Medical School aims to provide knowledge about popular diets. Researchers analyzed the dietary quality of eight common weight-loss plans including New Glucose Revolution, two Weight Watchers plans, Atkins, South Beach, Zone, Ornish and the 2005 Food Guide Pyramid.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association last Monday, said the Ornish plan is the best in terms of nutritional quality and heart-healthy benefits. The diet consists mainly of fruits, vegetables and fiber while eliminating saturated and trans fats. The Weight Watchers High-Carbohydrate plan and the New Glucose Revolution plan also scored in the top three.
The Atkins diet scored low on the list because of the high intake of saturated and trans fats due to encouraged consumption of red meat.
Yunsheng Ma, the study's lead author and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, said any of the diets can help people lose weight but it is important to look at other health factors.
"The main benefit in the top-scoring diets is the reduced risk of cardiovascular disease," Ma said.
Ma and his colleagues chose six of the diets from The New York Times bestseller list, he said. The 2005 Food Guide Pyramid was chosen because it is the standard of dietary guidelines for all Americans, and the Weight Watchers plan is the largest commercial plan in the United States.
The researchers looked at the menus inside each of the books, Ma said. Each menu had a seven-day meal plan and the food information was entered into a nutritional database. The data consisted of the number of calories in each meal, the number of calories from fat and the serving size of fruits, vegetable, fiber and meat. This information labeled each diet plan with a nutrient score.
A new study conducted at the University of Massachusetts Medical School aims to provide knowledge about popular diets. Researchers analyzed the dietary quality of eight common weight-loss plans including New Glucose Revolution, two Weight Watchers plans, Atkins, South Beach, Zone, Ornish and the 2005 Food Guide Pyramid.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association last Monday, said the Ornish plan is the best in terms of nutritional quality and heart-healthy benefits. The diet consists mainly of fruits, vegetables and fiber while eliminating saturated and trans fats. The Weight Watchers High-Carbohydrate plan and the New Glucose Revolution plan also scored in the top three.
The Atkins diet scored low on the list because of the high intake of saturated and trans fats due to encouraged consumption of red meat.
Yunsheng Ma, the study's lead author and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, said any of the diets can help people lose weight but it is important to look at other health factors.
"The main benefit in the top-scoring diets is the reduced risk of cardiovascular disease," Ma said.
Ma and his colleagues chose six of the diets from The New York Times bestseller list, he said. The 2005 Food Guide Pyramid was chosen because it is the standard of dietary guidelines for all Americans, and the Weight Watchers plan is the largest commercial plan in the United States.
The researchers looked at the menus inside each of the books, Ma said. Each menu had a seven-day meal plan and the food information was entered into a nutritional database. The data consisted of the number of calories in each meal, the number of calories from fat and the serving size of fruits, vegetable, fiber and meat. This information labeled each diet plan with a nutrient score.
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