About 50% of Adults Resolve to Try New Diet, Survey Says

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A new diet is on the New Year’s resolution list for nearly half of U.S. adults, according to a new survey from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

However, many plan to pick up diets with dicey track records, survey results show.

About 46% of adults said they plan to start a new diet in 2025, the survey found.

When asked which diets they plan to try, results show that: 

• 40% said they’ll eat fewer calories.

• 26% said they’ll try a low-carb diet like keto, Atkins or South Beach.

• 7% said they’ll eat a plant-based diet.

Research has shown that a plant-based or vegan diet is among the most effective means for losing weight and keeping it off, experts said.

“Counting calories can be time consuming and create a negative relationship with food for some people, and low-carbohydrate diets come with a range of side effects,” Dr. Roxanne Becker, medical editor with the Physicians Committee, said in a news release from the group.

“Research has shown that plant-based diets are effective for weight loss without purposefully restricting or counting calories,” Becker continued. “This is because plants tend to be naturally lower in calorie density and higher in fiber, which promotes a feeling of fullness.”

The committee pointed to a 2017 study in which obese or overweight New Zealand residents ate a whole-food, plant-based diet for six months.

On average, those folks lost nearly 27 pounds and saw their BMI drop by more than 4 percentage points, researchers said.

And in a 2013 study of obese or overweight employees at GEICO Insurance Company, those who ate a low-fat vegan diet for 18 weeks lost an average of 10 pounds and got better control of their blood sugar levels and cholesterol, the committee said.

A third study in 2018 found that overweight folks who ate a plant-based diet for 16 weeks lost more than 14 pounds on average, the committee said.

“The even better news is that while a plant-based diet is effective for weight loss, it also reduces the risk of obesity-related diseases like heart disease, hypertension, high cholesterol, and certain cancers, can save money, and is best for the environment,” Becker said.

One reason why so few are interested in trying a plant-based diet could be they don’t know where to start.

The survey included 2,174 women and men interviewed Dec. 13 through 15, 2024. The margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points.

More information

The Mayo Clinic has more on how to start a plant-based diet.

SOURCE: Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, news release, Dec. 30, 2024

Source: HealthDay

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