WASHINGTON — As the holiday eating season approaches, what is the best
diet
to keep the pounds off?
McGill University researchers compared the research done on four popular
diets: Atkins, South Beach, Weight Watchers and the Zone diets.
What they found is that none of the four diets led to dramatic weight loss.
No diet was significantly better than the others at keeping the weight off for
more than a year.
What the research found was that each of the diets helped people lose about
the same number of pounds in the short term, roughly 5 percent of their
starting body weight.
Weight Watchers helped dieters more effectively drop weight, but at the one
year point, dieters lost about the same amount whether they were on Weight
Watchers, Atkins or the Zone.
After two years, people who followed Atkins or Weight Watchers regained the
weight.
And, there were no differences in heart-disease risk factors, such as high
cholesterol, high blood pressure or blood sugar levels.
The study is published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular
Quality and Outcomes.
h/t: Time
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