Review of diets effective for weight loss: According to an article by Peter M. Clifton entitled “Dietary treatment for obesity,” today’s dieter has many options for successful weight loss. He states that there are five basic dietary strategies, which include 1) low-fat diets, 2) low calorie diets, 3) very-low calorie diets, 4) carbohydrate-restricted diets, and 5) low-glycemic-index diets. Clifton explained that long-term weight loss is defined as losing at least 10% of initial body weight and keeping it off for at least a year. The author stated that maintenance can be achieved by eating a low-fat diet, making sure one eats breakfast almost every day, obtain body weight regularly, engage in physical activity for around an hour every day, and maintaining a consistent eating pattern. Clifton mentioned that a final effort in the fight to lose weight may include surgical treatment such as gastric banding, or gastric bypass and after the first year of treatment 19-25% of individuals who chose surgery reduced their mortality. Clifton unfortunately found that after considering all weight loss options, only 20% of obese individuals that used weight-loss measures were able to maintain a weight loss of 10% or more after a 3 year period. (29)
