First, the methodology. All
the diets were reviewed and rated based on a number of
factors, including the amount of pounds lost, how nutritious
they are, how easy they are to follow and what the retention
or dropout rate is for each. And the winners are:
#1 Weight Watchers.
Weight Watchers, with their eat less and exercise more
message (how radical is that?), came in with the highest
score. Their weekly motivational meetings are especially
key in helping to keep the pounds off once they are off.
#2 Slim Fast. Slim Fast, which uses shakes and bars to
replace parts of two meals a day, came in second. Their
products are easy to find in almost any supermarket (earning
them high marks), and they also scored the highest on
best success in weight loss.
#3 The Zone Diet. Similar
to the Atkins Diet (keep reading for more on this) but
with much less fat, the Zone Diet came in at number three.
#4 The Ornish Diet.
While it had the worst retention rate of any diet reviewed,
the (Dr. Dean) Ornish Diet received high marks for its
heart-healthy, ultra-low fat and high fiber vegetarian
approach.
A great many other diets, including Jenny Craig and the
South Beach Diet,
were included in the report but were not ranked based
on the fact that there were just not enough independent
clinical studies to back them up. And then there is the
ever-present Atkins Diet. While it is king of the current
low-carb fad, Atkins found itself at the bottom of Consumer
Reports’ heap. Atkins does score well for short-term
weight loss, but very poorly on retention. With its emphasis
on too much fat at the expense of fruits and fiber, it
also rated poorly on nutrition, so much so that Consumer
Reports warns it may have a negative impact on some
dieters’ health.
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