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Sharon Palmer, R.D.
It's the time of year to think about achieving a healthy weight. Surveys say that almost half of all women pledge to
lose weight for their
What is difficult to understand is how to navigate the sea of diets that fill book store shelves and pour forth from the Internet.
A recent Google search yielded more than 34 million results for the search terms "weight loss diets." Many claim to be "the one and only diet," but that's not what scientific research demonstrates. EN investigated the most recent research in weight loss and found a recurring theme: There's more than one way to achieve successful weight loss.
Lessons from the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR).
Established in 1994, the NWCR comprises the largest investigation of long-term, successful weight loss ever, tracking and examining weight loss strategies of over 5,000 people. NWCR found remarkable diversity in what works for people. Here are some highlights:
--45 percent lost weight on their own; 55 percent lost weight using some type of program.
--98 percent modified food intake in some way to lose weight.
--94 percent increased physical activity, most commonly by walking.
--While there is variety in how people maintain weight loss, most maintain a low-calorie, low-fat diet with high levels of activity.
The macronutrient divide.
Recent studies explore the effects of macronutrient (carbohydrates, fat and protein) distribution on weight loss, discovering that weight loss really boils down to calories. The DIRECT (dietary intervention randomized controlled trial) two-year study looked at success and adherence among 322 moderately obese subjects in one of three groups: low-fat, Mediterranean or low-carbohydrate diets. The researchers found that overall compliance was 90 percent in the low-fat group with 6.4 pounds weight loss, 85 percent in the Mediterranean group with 9.7 pounds weight loss, and 78 percent in the low-carb group with 10.3 pounds weight loss. They concluded that the weight loss--not the diet--at the six-month point was the main predictor of long-term success in weight loss. These findings were published in the
Australian researchers looked at whether macronutrient spread of the diet played a role in one-year weight maintenance in overweight and obese subjects in a
Diets with different macronutrient composition were compared in a trial that included 811 overweight adults, which was published in
Beyond food.
Successful weight loss goes beyond diet choice. Factors like eating behavior, support and exercise are paramount. In an
Taking diet another step.
"We have evidence over the last 10 years that the amount of carbohydrates, fat and protein doesn't really make any difference in weight loss," says Christopher Gardner, Ph.D., who researches weight loss at
Available at Amazon.com:
The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Food You Were Designed to Eat
The Paleo Diet for Athletes: A Nutritional Formula for Peak Athletic Performance
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Health - The New Science Behind Diet and Weight Loss It's All about Diversity