U.S. News and World Report released its ranking of 30 popular diets on Wednesday, with the Mediterranean diet coming in ranked as the No. 1 overall diet for 2024 for another year.
It's the seventh consecutive year the Mediterranean Diet tops the list.
The list had six new additions this year: vegan diet, Dukan diet, Herbalife Nutrition, HMR Program, Profile Plan and Plantstrong.
The Mediterranean diet is followed by the DASH diet and the MIND diet as the top overall diets.
Raw food diet, followed by Herbalife Nutrition and Dukan diet, were named as the worst overall diets for 2024. U.S. News says the raw food diet can be unsafe for some people as many people who follow the diet consume dairy that has not been pasteurized.
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Unlike meals, snacks often lack key nutrients and are full of added sugars, making it hard for Americans to limit calorie consumption.
The Mediterranean Diet ranks No. 1 for easiest diet to follow, family-friendly diet, heart-healthy diet, diabetes diet and diet for healthy eating.
"One of the most important aspects of the Mediterranean diet in regards to weight loss is that it is easy to follow for long periods of time,” dietitian Elena Paravantes-Hargitt said in the U.S. News and World Report's review of the diet. “A traditional Mediterranean diet is 40% carbohydrates, 40% fat and about 20% protein. This combination has been shown to not only be ideal for long-term weight loss but is associated with lower mortality rates."
The WeightWatchers Diet ranked as the No. 1 weight-loss diet. The diet uses a point scale that allows dieters to eat any type of food, but foods higher in calories tend to be higher in points.
“WW helps to translate nutritional science into an accessible plan that's lower in calories, unhealthy (saturated) fats and added sugars,” University of Wisconsin dietitian Cassie Vanderwall said in the report's review of the diet. “It also offers a strong support network with a coach and fellow group members to provide the necessary social support for change and accountability.”
Which works better: Intermittent fasting or calorie counting?
Researchers at the University of Chicago studied whether intermittent fasting worked any better than calorie counting for weight loss.
U.S. News and World Report used a 43-person panel to analyze the 30 diets under consideration.
“Choosing a diet can be tough. Each person has unique health considerations and goals, and there are many diets out there to choose from — and it’s hard to know which ones will actually work best for you,” said Gretel Schueller, managing editor of health at U.S. News.
These are the top 10 overall diets, according to the ranking:
1) Mediterranean diet
2) DASH diet
3) MIND diet
4) Mayo Clinic diet
5) Flexitarian diet
6) WeightWatchers
7) Volumetrics diet
8) Dr. Weil's Anti-Inflammatory Diet
9) TLC diet
10) Vegan diet
The full list is available online.
