Adherence
The Paleo diet is associated with the longest average adherence duration (5.32 weeks) and the lowest dropout rate during the winter holiday season (14% in December) among New Year's resolution dieters, compared to other popular diets like South Beach.
If you are starting a diet in January, choose one that allows you to eat a wide variety of foods, including energy-dense options, to increase your chances of sticking with it through the holidays. The Paleo diet showed the best adherence in this study, likely because it does not require eliminating entire food groups like grains or dairy, making it easier to navigate social events and holiday meals without feeling deprived.
The Paleo diet had the longest average compliance times among NJD (5.32 ± 0.68 weeks) and the lowest dropout during the winter holiday season (only 14 ± 3 % dropping out in December).
Why this rating
The study uses a valid digital epidemiology approach with a large dataset (15 years, millions of searches), but relies on search proxies for actual diet adherence, which may not perfectly correlate with actual food consumption.
Source
How long do people stick to a diet resolution? A digital epidemiological estimation of weight loss diet persistence
Sherry Towers et al. · Public Health Nutrition · 2020
DOI 10.1017/s1368980020001597
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