Losing Weight is Hard to Do

Which diet is best if you want to lose weight? According to the results of a study published in the March 7th Journal of the American Medical Association, the high-fat, low-carb Atkins Diet trumps the LEARN diet (based on the U.S. dietary guidelines), the Zone Diet (which focuses on a balance of nutrients to achieve insulin control), and the low-fat Ornish Diet.

The study randomly assigned 311 overweight or obese premenopausal women to one of the four diets for one year. At the beginning of the study, their average weight was 187 pounds. During the course of the study, the women following the Atkins Diet lost an average of 10.4 pounds, women on the LEARN diet lost 5.7 pounds, those on the Ornish Diet lost 4.9 pounds, and the women on the Zone Diet lost an average of 3.5 pounds.

Perhaps more than anything, the study showed how hard it can be to follow a strict diet. Despite losing 10 or more pounds, many women remained overweight or obese, and many women regained much of the weight they had lost.

The women following the Atkins diet had slightly higher levels of HDL (good) cholesterol, and slightly lower blood pressure than those on the other diets—perhaps a direct cause of losing a few pounds—but their levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol were higher.

Some take issue with the study’s findings, arguing that the various diets were not strictly adhered to. Not surprisingly, Dr. Dean Ornish, whose low-fat, high-fiber regimen has been proven to reverse heart disease, has plenty to say about the study, not only in terms of weight loss, but also in terms of overall health. Read what he has to say here.

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