Most commercial weight-loss programs claim to help you lose weight–and lose it fast.
But are these claims really true?
Research from Johns Hopkins Medicine finally confirms what we’ve all feared: It’s all a lie.
Reviewing 4,200 studies which evaluated a variety of commercial weight-loss program, researchers found that only a few programs helped people lose weight–and even then, the weight loss wasn’t significant.
Many of these programs also failed after long-term use, suggesting these programs aren’t ideal for keeping the weight off.
“We want people to experience the health benefits of weight loss–lower blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar, and lower risk of developing diseases like diabetes,” says Jeanne Clark, M.D., M.P.H., Director of the Division of General Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine. “Those benefits are long-term goals; losing weight for three months, then regaining it, has limited health benefits. That’s why it’s important to have studies that look at weight loss at 12 months and beyond.”
The Study
Looking at 11 commercial weight loss programs, including Atkins, NutriSystem, and Jenny Craig, researchers found that most participants lost weight when they initially started these programs–but when these programs extended to 3, 6, or even 12 months, these effects often were negligible. Oftentimes the participants gained the weight back, or simply couldn’t continue it for a long period of time. For instance, meal replacement programs often aren’t good for long-term dieters because it’s hard to maintain–and the cost of these programs are too expensive.
In addition, some long-term programs carry health risks such as gallstones, making these plans less than ideal.
“Primary care doctors need to know what programs have rigorous trials showing that they work, but they haven’t had much evidence to rely on,” says Kimberly Gudzune, M.D., M.P.H., a Johns Hopkins Medicine assistant professor of medicine. “Our review should give clinicians a better idea of what programs they might consider for their patients.”
What did appear to be effective, on the other hand, were diet plans which emphasized healthy eating over the addition of weight loss bars, beverages, or other gimmicks, however. For instance, both Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig performed well because they were affordable and the eating plans were easy to maintain over a long-term period. However, long-term evidence surrounding these diets is still weak.
“Clinicians could consider referring patients who are overweight or obese to Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig,” says Gudzune. “Other popular programs, such as NutriSystem, show promising weight-loss results, but additional studies evaluating long-term outcomes are needed.”
Be wary, however–despite being effective, these programs only helped people lose up to 5 percent of their body weight over a year-long period. That’s not that much better than your standard diet.
“We found limited evidence to evaluate adherence or harms for all programs and weight outcomes for other commercial programs,” write researchers in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Readers: Have you tried any of these diet programs before?
Sources:
Few Commercial Weight-Loss Programs Show Reliable Evidence of Effectiveness: Most Don’t Work – ScienceDaily.com
Efficacy of Commercial Weight-Loss Programs: An Updated Systematic Review – Annals.org
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