Any diet is good enough if you follow it strictly

A new study has revealed that strictly following the diet is a key to reducing weight effectively, regardless of its brand or trademark.

Researchers found that weight loss differences between these popular diets are minimal and likely of little importance to those wanting to lose weight; however, diets with behavioural support and exercise enhance the weight loss.

Geoff Ball, associate professor and an obesity expert in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta, said that 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.

Bradley Johnston noted that the findings are particular to people who followed branded diets over the short-term, and who adhered to the diet. Future research might focus on long-term effectiveness, as well as on outcomes related to overall health.

It was established people on low-carbohydrate diets lost 19 more pounds than those who were not on a diet, while those on low-fat diets lost 17 more pounds than those on no diet.

The study is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).