Consumer reports health Blog: Report Update

There's been surprisingly little good research into commercial weight-loss diets, leaving us with the strange situation that we know which drugs or surgical procedures work best for losing weight, but have less evidence to show which diets work best.
Two new studies, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, go some way to filling that gap in our knowledge. Both involved women who were overweight, some of whom were severely obese. Both lasted at least a year— crucial in this type of research, as people tend to lose weight in the first few months of a diet, only to put it straight back on afterward. And both included meal replacement or pre-packaged low calorie meals, as part of the program. The results were encouraging. The women taking part in the studies lost between 13 and 26 pounds (6 and 12 kg) after one or two years. That's enough to make a real difference to health.
The one-year study, where people were also encouraged to do an hour's exercise every day, included the most obese people and also showed the best results. However, the two-year study, which was funded by and partly designed by Jenny Craig Inc., was a better-designed study.
All the women in these studies received the meal replacements free of charge, as well as a lot of support. We can't be sure that people who have to pay for the programs themselves, outside of a clinical study, would have such good results.
But it's interesting, as one commentator wrote in the journal, that medical insurance may cover an expensive gastric band or gastric bypass surgery—yet not a much cheaper commercial weight loss program that may avoid the need for weight loss surgery altogether. Maybe these studies will give enlightened health insurers some food for thought.
What you need to know. Weight loss programs that focus on diet and exercise can work well, even if you're severely obese. If you'd like to find out more, speak to your health care provider.