ABSTRACT
This chapter has examined the use of weight loss diets in the treatment of patients with obesity. The historical background for these diets is first reviewed noting that low-fat and low-carbohydrate diets had appeared more than 100 years ago. Basic principles of energy balance are then briefly reviewed. A discussion of very-low-energy (calorie) diets is followed by a discussion of the balanced deficit diet, the low-calorie diet, the low-fat diet, the low glycemic index, and the Mediterranean-style diet. Variability of response to each diet is characteristic and considerably larger than the average weight difference between most if not all dietary comparisons. The best advice is to select a diet you can adhere to and to follow your progress by periodic recording of your body weight.
