According to the International Food Information Council, more than half of all Americans followed the diet last year. Collectively, US consumers spend $33 billion annually on these enterprises. However, only 20% of dieters will be able to keep the weight off for 12 months.
The truth is that dieting is hard. Most fad diets don’t work. And some can threaten your health. Digging through the mounds of information about dieting and understanding whether particular plans live up to the hype can be overwhelming.
Best Diets 2023 cuts through the diet chatter to get to the bones of the plans that will help our readers reach their goals. Now in its 13th year, Best Diets provides in-depth profiles for 38 popular eating plans and ranks them 24th based on a variety of criteria, from their healthiness to their potential to aid weight loss.
Many diets, such as WW/WeightWatchers, are household names, while others, such as the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Prevent Hypertension) diet, are must-haves.
For 2023, the health team added two new diets to the list: Pritikin and Keyto. They then mined medical journals, government reports and other sources to create in-depth profiles of the cutters.
Each profile explains how the diet works, determines whether its marketing claims are realistic, scrutinizes it for potential health risks — and reveals what it’s like to live the diet, not just read about it.
With the help of our nationally recognized experts, medical doctors, registered dietitians, nutritional epidemiologists, and weight loss researchers who are leaders in their fields, we developed an in-depth survey with more than 40 questions centered around lifestyle and health goals. We asked the panelists the questions our readers most wanted answered, including:
- Does the diet require vitamins, nutritional supplements, fiber drinks, or hard-to-find specialty products?
- Are nutritious foods emphasized?
- Can the diet be modified to meet cultural, religious, or other personal preferences?
- Does the diet promote a healthy and realistic timeline for weight loss?
- Is there a weight loss plan involved?
- Are foods called widely available and easy to purchase?
- Are age, body type, and activity level considered when setting recommendations?
- How much time does it take to plan, shop, and prepare meals and snacks?
- Can the diet be easily adapted for the whole family?
- Are all food groups included in the diet?
We Americans also calculate the nutritional adequacy of a diet based on nutrients such as calcium and vitamin D. Finally, we consider how effectively the diet helps with weight loss and prevents or manages many health conditions, including:
- Inflammation
- Bone and joint health.
- Diabetes.
- Cardiovascular health.
We then chose which questions to ask for each of our 11 dietary categories. For example, if someone can follow a diet for ten years it doesn’t matter if they are just trying to drop 10 pounds for a beach vacation in two months. Maybe this person will be happy to get into those shorts quickly and then focus on our top-rated plans for the best long-term weight loss when they get home.
Best diet ranking
A panel of 33 nationally recognized experts in nutrition, obesity, food psychology and chronic disease management carefully examined our profiles, added their input, and rated each diet. We asked the panelists to share what aspects of each diet they particularly liked or disliked, as well as advice for those considering the plan.
After each diet received rigorous scrutiny, we converted experts’ ratings into scores and stars from 5 (highest) to 1 (lowest). We then used those scores to create 11 sets of best diet rankings, which are as follows:
- The Best Diet includes a total of 24 diets based on various criteria, including whether or not all food groups are included in the diet, the availability of essential foods in the diet, and the use of additional vitamins or supplements. We considered that the diet was evidence-based and adapted to meet cultural, religious, or other personal preferences. In addition, the criteria included an assessment of the preparation and planning time required for the diet and the effectiveness of the diet for a healthy individual.
- Best Diet Programs ranks 13 structured diet programs that require a participation fee, promote branded food or nutritional products, and have other forms of support such as apps or social groups. These diets provide long-term weight loss, short-term weight loss incentives, and support to plan members.
- The rankings for the best long-term weight loss and maintenance diets were created by combining the safety of the promoted weight loss rate and the plan’s likelihood of successful long-term weight loss and weight loss maintenance.
- The best short-term weight loss diets are scored on their effectiveness for a person who wants to lose weight in three months or less.
- The best diabetes diets are equally calculated based on the effectiveness of the diet, the nutritional quality of the diet, and the research evidence-based support for the diet for a person who wants to reduce risk factors for diabetes.
- The best heart-healthy diets are calculated equally from risk factors for high blood pressure, the nutritional quality of the diet, and evidence-based support for the diet’s effectiveness for the individual who wishes to reduce it.
- The Best Diet for Healthy Eating combines nutritional completeness and safety ratings. A healthy diet should provide adequate calories and not be severely deficient in essential nutrients or whole food groups.
- The Easiest Diet to Follow represents the panelists’ average scores for relevant lifestyle questions, including whether all food groups are included and whether the recommended foods are readily available in the average supermarket.
- The Best Plant-Based Diets uses the same approach as the Best Diets Overall to order eight plans that emphasize minimally processed foods from plants.
Two new categories were introduced this year:
- The best diets for bone and joint health are equally calculated based on the effectiveness of the diet for a person who wants to reduce their risk factors for inflammation and improve bone and joint health, as well as the nutritional quality and research evidence-based support for the diet.
- Family-friendly diets are calculated equally in their adaptability for the whole family, including cultural, religious, and personal preferences, the time required for planning and preparation, nutritional value, and access to food in any supermarket.
In all rankings, scores are rounded to one decimal place; Diets with the same number are in alphabetical order.