An experiment by Sky News has suggested that the Paleo diet results in the most weight loss, but also the least reduction in body fat. The 5:2 diet resulted in the largest reduction in body fat, but the least weight lost.
However, the study is not a particularly conclusive piece of research, as it only involved four people, who were each given a different diet for three weeks. The diets tested were the Paleo diet, the 5:2 diet, the Diabetes diet and the Vegetarian diet. For the results to be a more sufficient indicator of which diet is the best, a much larger test group would be required.
Health experts strongly emphasise that reducing body fat is much more important than losing weight. Losing weight can actually be a sign of a reduction in muscle mass, or losing water weight, rather than a reduction in body fat, which experts say reduces health risks.
Dietician Rick Miller said, “I think most popular diets are generally a fad. Often they’re stripping out food groups entirely so they may take out dairy products or starchy food and that can lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies long term.”
Miller preferred the ‘diabetic’ and ‘vegetarian’ diets, viewed as more acceptable due to being much more moderate options, with less dramatic results. Both weight and body fat was lost at a fairly equal rate, unlike the Paleo and 5:2 diets. He believed that in the long-term they would be the best options, because they are easier to maintain due to their similarity to typical eating habits.
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