Study: Popular Diets Work If People Stick To Them

While many of us resolved to lose some weight in the new year, now we're stuck with a quandary: Which diet is best?

A new study compared four popular diets to see which was best for shedding pounds and decreasing risk for heart disease. The study found that each diet can work, but there isn't one magical diet that will work for everyone.

Researchers at Tufts-New England Medical Center tested four diets -- Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers and Zone -- and found that the diets were equally effective at weight loss and preventing heart disease. The findings are published in Wednesday's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"We found that all four diets worked well for weight loss, heart disease risk factor reduction, but only in the people who could follow their diet closely for a year," said Dr. Michael Dansinger, of the Tufts-New England Medical Center. "Only about 25 percent of the participants were able to follow their diet closely."

Dansinger and his research team randomly assigned 160 men and women with a heart disease risk factor -- high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or high blood sugar -- to follow one of the four diets for a year. The study participants had to stick closely to the diet and attend diet classes for the first two months. Then they were on their own.

"I was surprised that so many people had so much difficulty sticking to the diets after the classes ended," Dansinger said. "Many people lost weight, say 20 pounds or more, and they wanted to stick to their plan, but gradually over time found it more and more difficult."

The average weight loss for all the diets over the one-year period was 10 pounds. The Atkins and Ornish diets had the highest dropout rates in the study, but Atkins was best at increasing good cholesterol, and Ornish was best at reducing bad cholesterol.

People who lost 25 pounds, regardless of the diet type, reduced their heart disease risk factors by about 50 percent. Those who lost about 10 pounds reduced their heart disease risk factors by 10 to 20 percent.

Dansinger said people who want to shed some weight should ask their doctor to help them find the diet that's best for them.

"It might be like dating the diets. You have to kiss a few frogs before you find your prince, before you find your long-term, the one," Dansinger said.

Full Study: Journal Of The American Medical Association