Diets review

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

The below represents a fairly easy to read description of the

evaluations in the JAMA paper of commercial diets. The paper and its

review are available.

It is

http://www.wellness.com/newsfeed.asp?

SMContentIndex=2 & SMContentSet=0 & subject=2

from http://www.wellness.com/.

The low fad approach may be the bottom line.

Today's Wellness Headlines

Diet programs don't tip scale toward keeping weight off

People can lose weight on popular diet programs, including Weight

Watchers and Atkins, but many find it impossible to stick to them, a

new

study shows.

In the study, only about half of participants stuck with Atkins and

about 65% with Weight Watchers for a year.

Those who stayed with their programs lost and kept off about 10 to 20

pounds after one year and improved heart disease risk factors. This

confirms research that shows committed dieters usually shed 5% to 10%

of

their starting weight and improve their health.

For the latest study, scientists at Tufts-New England Medical Center

in

Boston recruited 160 overweight and obese adults, ages 22 to 72, who

had high cholesterol, high blood sugar or high blood pressure.

The dieters were assigned to one of four popular programs: Weight

Watchers (trims calories), Atkins (slashes carbs), the Zone (limits

calories) and the Ornish diet (drastically cuts fat).

Participants agreed to follow their programs to the best of their

abilities for the first two months as well as attend group classes

and study

cookbooks. For the next 10 months, they were encouraged to follow the

diets to whatever extent they wanted.

Some adhered to their diets closely; others less so. Some dropped

out.

Weight and heart disease risk factors were measured at two, six and

12

months.

Findings in today's Journal of the American Medical Association:

* At the end of one year, about 50% had dropped out of the Ornish and

Atkins plans; 35% had abandoned Weight Watchers and the Zone. About

25%

stuck very closely to the four diets for a full year.

* At one year, about 25% of participants in each group had sustained

a

weight loss of 10 to 20 pounds.

* About 10% of participants lost and kept off 10% of their initial

weight.

* For each group, at least one person had lost 30 to 60 pounds at one

year.

* In general, dieters lost half their desired weight in the first

three

months.

* Those who had the greatest weight loss had the best improvements in

cholesterol.

* A 5% weight loss resulted in 10% improvement in heart disease risk

factors.

* Those who followed the Ornish diet lowered their LDL (bad)

cholesterol the most.

* Those who followed the other three plans had the biggest increases

in

HDL (good) cholesterol.

The idea that one diet fits all is outdated, says Dansinger,

director of obesity research for the Atherosclerosis Research

Laboratory

at the Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston.

Many different strategies work, but you need to be matched up with

the

right one for you, he says.

''To find one that's best for you, try dating the diets as if you are

looking for a lifelong partner,'' he says. ''You may have to kiss a

few

frogs along the way, but once you find the one you can live with

forever, stand by your plan.''

In an accompanying editorial, Eckel of the University of

Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver says people need to realize

that

both ''quality and quantity of the diet are important, and that

sustained

weight loss may be possible with the addition of physical activity

and

behavioral change strategies to a modest but persistent caloric

restriction -- the 'Low Fad' approach.''

To see more of USAToday.com, or to subscribe, go to

http://www.usatoday.com

Cheers, Alan Pater