The Best and Worst Diets of 2024, According to US News & World Report

Now in its 14th year, US News Best Diets has released its rankings for 30 popular diets across 11 categories based on a variety of criteria, from their healthiness to how likely they are to help you lose weight.

So, before you choose a new eating plan or diet, read about the best – and worst – ratings just in time to take advantage of the New Year’s resolutions you’ve just started.

On any given day, millions of people in the US are trying to lose weight. More than half of Americans report following a specific eating pattern or diet at some point in the past year, according to the International Council on Food Information’s 2023 Food & Health Survey.

However, only 20% of dieters will be able to keep the weight off. The truth is dieting is hard. Many fad diets don’t work all the time, and some can even threaten your health.

US News Best Diets 2024 sifts through the diet chatter to find the plans most likely to help you achieve your goals — whether it’s losing weight, managing a health condition (like high blood pressure or diabetes) or simply trying eat healthier – so you can decide, in consultation with your doctor or other health professional, which diet is best for you.

To create the latest edition of the rankings, US News health editors spent months brainstorming potential additions to our roster of diets. For 2024, the health team added six new diets:

We reviewed medical journals, government reports and other resources and interviewed health and nutrition experts to create in-depth profiles for each diet.

Each profile explains how the diet works, determines whether its claims are realistic, examines it for potential health risks and reveals what it’s like to live on the diet. Each diet profile includes a sample meal plan, foods to eat and avoid, tips for diet success and scientific studies supporting any health benefits.

Our Best Diets panelists, 43 experts – including medical doctors, registered dietitians, nutritional epidemiologists and weight loss researchers who are leaders in their fields – thoroughly evaluated all 30 diets.

We worked with The Harris Poll to devise the methodology used in this year’s ranking. In judging the Best Diets, the panels considered:

They also considered the strengths and weaknesses of each diet and the specific goals each diet might be most effective at addressing, and shared these in open-ended responses. The Best Diets panel also shared aspects of each diet that they particularly liked or disliked and offered advice for those considering the plan. The latest rankings, which include everything from the Mediterranean diet to the popular keto diet, can help you find the best plan for you.

The plant-based diet in the Mediterranean is more of a lifestyle approach than a diet, which is why it has such staying power. Experts like it because it is healthy, tasty and offers variety and flexibility. In addition, it does not restrict any food or food group. It is backed by a lot of sound science that shows a wide range of health benefits.

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, olive oil and seafood, with red meat and sweets being occasional treats. The Mediterranean diet is a great example of the fact that diet can taste good – it doesn’t have to mean unpackaged or pre-packaged food.

Coming in at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, the DASH diet and the MIND diet, which follow these essential principles of healthy eating.

The DASH diet, which was specifically designed to stop or prevent high blood pressure, adds a little more structure. It limits sodium and saturated fat, limits daily sodium intake at 2,300 milligrams and limits fatty meats and tropical oils high in saturated fat. But this well-balanced eating pattern is suitable for anyone, regardless of their health status.

The MIND diet, in third place, is a combination of the DASH and Mediterranean diets. MIND stands for Mediterranean-DASH intervention to delay neurodegeneration and has the same basic whole-food focus as both diets. The big difference is that it focuses on foods that are believed to improve brain health, foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, nuts, berries and dark leafy greens.

These diets facilitate weight loss at a healthy rate of 1 to 2 pounds per week and maintain it long term.

These diets accomplish the short-term goal of losing weight quickly (in three months or less), even if it is not sustainable long-term.

These diets are most effective in managing diabetes or prediabetes.

These eating plans reduce inflammation and include nutrients and vitamins to support healthy bones and joints.

These diets support wholesome, healthy eating. They allow optimal intake of essential nutrients and do not restrict entire food groups. They also provide plenty of calories and don’t skimp on essential nutrients.

This category includes commercial diets with structured programs that offer support to dieters, which may include in-person or online coaching and support, as well as packaged foods, bars or beverages that help members of the diet plan to follow. Additional support and resources may include food tracking apps, meal plans and recipes.

These meal plans are well suited for families of all types to eat healthily together. These diets are flexible to budgetary, cultural and religious preferences. They are also easily adaptable to different ages, body types and activity levels.

These diets are for people who want to improve heart health – from helping to control blood pressure to lowering cholesterol.

These healthy plant-based diets range from completely vegan to those that allow a flexible mix of plant-based foods with occasional servings of meat, seafood and poultry. They also ensure optimal intake of essential nutrients.

These diets don’t require hard-to-remember rules, strict calorie counting, hard-to-find ingredients or excessive meal preparation.

Whether your goal is weight loss, avoiding or managing diabetes, improving your cardiovascular health or some combination of these, it’s important to be aware of potential diet red flags, such as severe restrictions on foods or calories.

When it comes to being on a diet to lose weight, many people think strictly in terms of foods that they must completely exclude from their eating regime. Instead of focusing on giving up sugar or carbs, focus on what to add to your diet, such as fresh vegetables, whole grains, more seafood or simply more nuts and seeds.

Their lack of flexibility, overly restrictive nature, reliance on processed foods and supplements, and the potential nutritional imbalances that can result from following these programs make them among the worst diets overall. in 2024:

Rather than focusing on lifestyle changes, these plans present a quick fix that is not sustainable in the long term.

Regardless of the category or goal you’re looking for—better heart health, lower diabetes risk, stronger bones or weight loss—US News’ top diets of 2024 have a few things in common:

Hallmarks of the best diet include balance, nutrition, deliciousness, family-friendliness, sustainability and wellness. And the best diet for you, according to our panel of doctors and dietitians, is the one you can stick to for life and one you won’t feel deprived of.

It is important to remember that a healthy diet is not just about losing weight. A healthy diet is one that improves health and helps fight disease. We know there’s no one diet that’s right for everyone, so it’s important to follow an eating plan full of delicious, healthy foods that keep your unique lifestyle in mind.