Weight Management and Popular Diets

Over the past several years many diets have been recommended to the public, often with promises of improved health, greater life expectancy and weight loss. Most of these diets can be assigned to the 'high protein' or 'high carbohydrate' category.  

The high carbohydrate diets reviewed here are:

• 'Eat More Weigh Less' (Dr Dean Ornish)
• 'The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss' (Dr John McDougall)
• The 'Pritikin' Diet (Dr Robert Pritikin)
• 'Eight Weeks to Optimum Health' (Dr Andrew Weil)
• The 'GutBusters' program (Dr Garry Egger and Dr Rosemary Stanton)
  

• ‘Slim Forever’ (Dr Robert Harris)
• The ‘Atkins Diet’ (Dr Robert Atkins)
• The ‘Zone Diet’ (Dr Barry Sears)
• ‘Sugar Busters!’(Dr Samuel Andrews, Dr Morrison Bethea, Dr Luis Balart and Leighton Steward)
• ‘Total Wellbeing Diet’ (CSIRO)

Remember, diet is only one lifestyle factor to consider with regard to optimal health outcome. Physical activity is equally important. The recommended lifestyle for optimal health and wellness includes a diet based on a wide variety of nutritious foods (with the greatest emphasis on foods of plant origin), and at least 30 minutes of moderately vigorous activity per day.