What determines the perfect diet?

Seattle - In the elusive search for the perfect diet it seems that various diet plans all have good results. So what is the one factor that creates a diet that works?

It seems there is a consensus that the true determining factor whether or not a diet will be successful is in the amount of calories consumed, according to a new landmark study.

Louisiana State University recently released a new study that compared the amount of weight lost with four different weight loss plans emphasizing low calorie intake.

The average amount of weight lost was 13 pounds, no matter which program was used.

The best weight loss program to use is not the one that can cause the most weight loss in the least amount of time, as these are often extreme and few people can adhere to their standards, but the one that can be used for the longest amount of time to lose the weight and keep it off.

“What we found is that the most important thing for people to lose weight is to choose a heart-healthy diet and to keep the amounts down,” Sacks, lead author of the article appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine, said in an interview.

“It’s not so important whether they eat higher carbohydrates or higher protein or lower carbohydrates or lower protein,” he said. “What really matters is just plain, simple old quantity: how much people eat.”

While keeping the reduction of calories consumed your main focus. You will also want to consider your personal health history while choosing your diet plan.

Increasing fruits, vegetables and fiber consumption is a great idea for everyone.

But ultimately it will not matter how expensive, cheap, complicated or ease of use, what will matter is how many calories per day you are able to eliminate.

To stay healthy and strong you will want to increase your activity level, this will help to burn calories.

The bottom line to weight loss results are simply decreasing calorie intake by changing your food choices and increasing your activity level.

In 2007, only one state (Colorado) had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%. Thirty states had a prevalence equal to or greater than 25%; three of these states (Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee) had a prevalence of obesity equal to or greater than 30%.

The study appears in the New England Journal of Medicine.