All Weight Loss Diets Effective, if People Eat Healthy and Exercise: Researchers

Popular weight-loss diets such as Weight Watchers and Atkins offer similar benefits, provided people stick to the eating and exercise regimen, a new study has found.

According to researchers at the McMaster University and colleagues, all branded weight-loss diets offer similar benefits. However, diets that provide behavioural support and exercise are better than other diet plans.

Data for the study came from 48 randomized clinical trials of branded diets. A total of 7,200 overweight and obese adults took part in these trials.

At six-month follow up, people who cut carbs from their diet lost around 19 pounds more than other people who weren't on any diet. Participants on low-fat diet lost around 17 more pounds than the non-dieters.

Related research has shown that contrary to popular belief low-carb diet is better for weight loss and heart health than a diet low in fat.

"We wanted to be the first to compare, in an evidence-based fashion, all existing randomized trials of branded diets to determine their effectiveness with regard to weight loss," said Bradley Johnston, the study's lead author.

Behavioral support resulted in loss of over seven pounds during the six-month follow-up period, researchers found. exercise helped people lose four to five pounds on an average by 12 months.

The study is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Public Health Agency of Canada funded the research.

"Given the popularity of these diets around the world, there has been a real lack of research to examine their relative benefits. But overall, the differences between the different diets regarding their impact on weight loss were relatively small," Geoff Ball, associate professor and an obesity expert in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta, according to a news release.