Weight Loss Success -- The Most Important Determinant
|
Adherence to diet for one year, not the specific diet plan, is the most important determinant of successful weight loss. According to the results of a randomized trial published in the January 2005 issue of JAMA. When comparing Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone diets, the author recommends the "low fad" approach.
The Low Fad Approach
Successful weight loss is best achieved by following the low fad approach. The low fad approach to losing weight involves moderate reductions in caloric intake with increased physical activity. There is nothing "fad" about this approach and is supported by a few studies.
The fact that the low fad approach is backed by scientific evidence is key...the fad diets currently in the market have very little credible evidence supporting their claims.
"The scarcity of data addressing the health effects of popular diets is an important public health concern, especially since patients and physicians are interested in using popular diets as individualized eating strategies for disease prevention," write Michael L. Dansinger, MD, a Preventative Medicine specialist from Boston, Massachusetts.
Dr. Dansinger goes on to say, "Some plans minimize carbohydrate intake without fat restriction (eg, Atkins diet), many modulate macronutrient balance and glycemic load (eg, Zone diet), and others restrict fat (eg, Ornish diet)."
So, besides the lack of evidence backing the claims made by fad diets, there is no consistency from one diet to the next within the same category of diet type. This makes it extremely difficult to study the fad diets and measure the effects on your health, let alone your chances for successful weight loss.
But there's hope for dieters...the low fad approach or "Low Fad Diets."
Successful Weight Loss...The Evidence Supporting Low Fad Diets
At a single academic medical center, 160 overweight or obese adults were randomized to the Atkins, Zone, Weight Watchers (calorie restriction), or Ornish diet. The total time of the study was one year. The age range was 22 to 72 years, mean body mass index (BMI) was 35 kg/m2 (range, 27-42 kg/m2), and all participants had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes.
After two months of maximum effort, participants controlled their degree of adherence to the diet. Primary outcomes were changes in baseline weight and cardiac risk factors at one year, and dietary adherence rates based on self-report.
The percent of subjects who were able to finish the study and stick with their diets for one year were 53% for Atkins, 65% for The Zone, 65% for Weight Watchers, and 50% for Ornish. Participants who discontinued the study were assumed to have no change from baseline in their weight.
At one year, mean weight loss was 6-7 pounds for Atkins, 6-9 pounds for The Zone, 6-8 pounds for Weight Watchers, and 6-10 pounds for The Ornish Diet.
Compared to subjects that quit the study before one year, the subjects that made it to one year experienced greater weight loss. In each group, approximately 25% of the initial participants maintained a one-year weight reduction of more than 5% of initial body weight, and approximately 10% of participants lost more than 10% of body weight.
The amount of weight loss was associated with the self-reported level of dietary adherence. Basically, the longer a subject stayed on the diet that they were randomized to, the more weight loss they experienced. However, the type of diet they were on had no real effect on the amount of weight loss. The type of diet also had no effect on dropping their blood pressure or lowering their cholesterol level.
Successful Weight Loss Conclusion
The author concluded, "Each popular diet modestly reduced body weight and several cardiac risk factors at one year." Overall, dietary adherence rates were low, although increased adherence was associated with greater weight loss and cardiac risk factor reductions for each diet group.
The study limitations include the inability to identify a "best diet" and the limited ability to exclude long-term safety risks.
Lastly, the author stated, "One way to improve dietary adherence rates may be to use a broad spectrum of diet options, to better match individual food preferences, lifestyles, and cardiovascular risk profiles." I have always supported the idea of more personalized weight loss plans.
The General Clinical Research Center via the National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Boston Obesity Nutrition Research Center supported this study on successful weight loss.
To Healthy Living!
Michael A. Smith, MD
Chief Medical Consultant
Diet Basics Website
The complete study can be found at JAMA. 2005;293:43-53, 96-97.
Dr. Smith is the Chief Medical Consultant for Diet Basics, a content rich weight loss web site. He is dedicated to the education of all dieters. Please visit his site at Diet Basics.
|
|
|
Lose The Weight For Good ? Nothing To Lose Or Everything To Lose?
Some of you will not like what I'm going to say, even though it is the truth. That may be where the issue of America's health problems lies. No one wants to give you the truth, you may not come back to see them.My responsibility as a high profile fitness expert lies not in if you like me, or even if you buy my e books. My responsibility lies in giving you straight talk with no sugar coat...(related: Weight Loss)
Foods That Help Burn Fat
Foods that are high in fiber and protein are the best kinds of food to consume if you want to burn fat around your waistline and tone your abs.Below you'll find a handful of foods that will help you reach your weight loss goal.Dairy ProductsAccording to an article in Obesity Research, women who ate low-fat dairy products, such as nonfat yogurt and low-fat milk, three to four times a day lost 70 percent more fat than low-dairy dieters.In another study done a...(related: Weight Loss)
Walk Your Way To Weight Loss
"The sovereign invigorator of the body is exercise, and of all the exercises walking is the best." Thomas JeffersonThe problem of obesity is growing (pardon the pun) in America and it doesn't appear that dieting alone is helping people with their weight loss goals.Millions of Americans are trying to achieve weight loss, spending approximately $30 billion a year on diet, weight loss programs and weight loss products; and often they do lose some weight ? for a short period of time. If you check with these same people five years later, you will find that nearly all have regained whatever weight they lost making their weight loss temporary at best.A national ...(related: Weight Loss)
Move, Move, Move For Greater Weight Loss
The loss of fat comes from fat cells all over the body, not from one or more specific area's so spot reduction of a certain area is not possible. The main priority of this article is to show you the quickest and safest way to lose fat from the body.The key to effective aerobic training that burns off the maximum amount of fat is long-term consistency not intensity. It doesn't matter if you run a mile, jog a mile or walk a mile you will burn exactly the same amount of calories.<...(related: Weight Loss)
Barriers To Healthy Diets -- Removing Them Is Not As Hard As You Think
Barriers to healthy diets are placed into four broad categories:
Why Do Athletes Use Ephedra?
You are probably familiar with the weight loss connection with the ephedra pill, but did you know that the ephedra pill is also extremely popular with performance athletes? For decades, athletes have been seeking out ways to enhance their performance. One of the most common and popular enhancing substances was the ephedra pill.At...(related: Weight Loss)
The Best Diet/way To Lose Weight
The diet that worked for meI have had a lot of issues and problems with my weight. It has had a major effect on my life, it knocked my confidence and I had an all round low self-esteem.A couple of years ago I decided to do some...(related: Weight Loss)
Taking Control Of Your Cellulite
Cellulite happens to us for many reasons. Some reasons-- like genetics or hormones -- you can do very ...(related: Weight Loss)
Staying Toned After Weight Loss
Staying Toned After Weight Loss----------------------------------------Following signi...(related: Weight Loss)
Obesity And Morbid Obesity ? Is Gastric Bypass Surgery Right For You
The very first thing you want to do before you even consider the surgery is really contemplate if surgery is the only way to lose weight. If you have exhausted every diet or new lifestyle of eating, the last resort should be Gastric Bypass Surgery or another name is Bariatric Surgery.First of all what is Obesity?This results from too much accumulation of fat once it exceeds the body's skeletal and physical needs.According to the NIH (National Institutes of Health) 20% more than you "ideal body weight" is when excess weight becomes a health risk.Almost 2/3 of the adult population, approximately 200 million, are overweight or ob...(related: Weight Loss)
Weight Loss: Keeping Your Results Over The Summer
Having just returned from a week of basking on a beach, I couldn't help but notice how many over 30's were overweight and apparently doing little to help it.The other thing I noticed from chatting, was how many people had low carb dieted prior to getting to the beach, yet didn't seem to be following any diet now, except perhaps a weight gain diet.Many of us diet to look good on the beach, but then fall into our old habits once we get there, and end up getting back on the diet roller coaster yet again. If this s...(related: Weight Loss)
Getting Enough Sleep At Night May Just Help You Lose Weight
Eating the right foods and exercising regularly have been the hallmark of most weight management programs for the last 50 years. We are learning more and more about how other lifestyle factors affect weight such as stress, hormones, and other emotional triggers. Now it appears we can add sleep to the growing list of lifestyle factors that affect our weight.A recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggest that getting enough sleep may help with your weight loss efforts. The study found that sleep deprived volunteers (4 hours per night) had a 28% increase i...(related: Weight Loss)
Tips For Cooking Low Carb
If you are committed to the low carb way of eating, but also craving some of your old comfort foods you may still be able to satisfy those cravings with a little bit of creative substitution. Some of the foods that you used to know and love, have a low carb alternative available - the taste might be a little bit different but you will soon get used to that and be well on your way to happier and healthier eating!Here's some tips you can use to make your low carb cooking easier and tastier:1. Make low carb bread crumbs for breaded foods. Foods like chicken Parmesan and stuffed peppers need to have a bread crumbs to have that full taste. While you may be able to buy low carb bread crumbs, you can also make them by using low carb bread. Simply toast the low carb bread in the oven on a cookie sheet. Once it is hard, grind it up in...(related: Weight Loss)
site-map - Copyright © 2007 | Contact Webmaster - shukra1111 [AT] yahoo.com | All Rights Reserved | Weight Loss