Losing weight is not only about cutting calories: the quality of the diet can also vary significantly depending on the weight-loss strategy. This is the conclusion reached by U.S. researchers who compared two approaches to weight management in adults with obesity.
The study, published in JAMA Network Open, involved 360 people who were followed for two years. Half of the participants followed a Mediterranean-style eating program. Their diet included more healthy fats, whole grains, vegetables, and fruits, while they limited refined carbohydrates and processed foods.
The second group followed the WeightWatchers program, which primarily focused on reducing calorie intake while also encouraging participants to eat more fruits and vegetables.
After two years, participants in both groups had lost an average of about 4% of their initial body weight. Thus, in terms of weight loss alone, the researchers found no significant difference between the two approaches. However, the quality of the participants’ diets changed differently: those following the Mediterranean-style program showed a substantially greater improvement in overall diet quality.
Dietitian Emily Case of Northwell Health, who was not involved in the study, noted that the Mediterranean diet provides people with a clear framework for making food choices. It emphasizes increasing the proportion of whole foods and healthy fats while reducing refined carbohydrates, which may be important for preventing chronic diseases, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The authors stress that there is still insufficient evidence to determine precisely how differences in diet quality affect the long-term health consequences of obesity. Nevertheless, the findings suggest that weight-loss programs may be more beneficial for overall health when they focus not only on the number of calories consumed, but also on the types of foods those calories come from.
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