Similar weight loss on 3 different, popular diets

By Gene Emery

BOSTON (Reuters) - A long-term study of three very different diets has concluded that all produce similar amounts of modest weight loss, although the health benefits of the three may vary.

After two years, dieters lost an average of 7.3 pounds (3.3 kg) on the low-fat regimen, 10 pounds (4.6 kg) on the Mediterranean diet and 12 pounds (5.5 kg) on a mostly vegetarian version of the low-carbohydrate Atkins diet, Israeli researchers reported on Wednesday.

More than 82 percent of the dieters were men, with an average starting weight of just over 200 pounds (90 kg).

"The good news is, we have alternatives," said Iris Shai of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, who led the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

"If we fail in one strategy, we may want to choose another diet. We cannot think any more that one diet fits all," Shai added in a telephone interview. "This study will open clinical medicine to considering low-carb and Mediterranean diets as safe alternatives for patients."

The amount of weight lost at the two-year mark was similar to the effects of some prescription diet drugs, she said.

The low-carbohydrate diet excelled at improving the cholesterol profile, reducing the total cholesterol-to-good cholesterol ratio by 20 percent, compared to just 12 percent in the low-fat diet. For diabetics, the Mediterranean diet was best for lowering fasting glucose levels.

"Women tended to lose more weight on the Mediterranean diet," the researchers added.