The popularity of various weight loss diet plans presents an interesting dilemma for health professionals. Despite Americans' interest in such diets and spending of > $46 billion on diet plans, pills, and products,¹ > 60% of Americans are overweight.² The expanding American waistline, long a concern within the medical community, is now also a public health issue. Modest weight loss has benefits for people with diabetes as well as for those at risk for developing diabetes.^3–5

A variety of popular diets promise easy weight loss solutions and improvements in health. Yet research indicates that popular diets are no more successful in long-term weight loss than traditional weight loss guidelines.⁶ What drives consumers to these plans? What is it like to follow a popular diet plan? What do our patients experience when they follow these plans? What can dietitians and other health professionals learn from the success these plans have had in creating widespread interest?

Because our patients ask questions about various diet plans and some follow them, the nutrition staff at the International Diabetes Center (IDC) initiated a project to explore and understand various popular diets in a unique way. This article describes our process and findings so that others might learn from our experience or undertake a similar project within their own organizations.

Background and Project Goals

The Popular Diets Project was initiated to meet the following objectives:

1. Experience learning and following a selected popular diet plan.

2. Analyze the experience and apply what is learned to improve patient care and education.

3. Use the experience to develop a presentation on popular diets for our professional training programs.

The original project plan was to have three groups follow three different popular diets. There were to be two dietitians in each group, along with a nondietitian to balance the perspective. …