Many people look to the reputed U.S. News & World Report for their rankings of things such as universities, hospitals, law schools, business schools, graduate schools, medical schools and cars. For the past five years, the magazine has also developed a ranking system for the most popular and culturally significant diet plans in an attempt to discover which diets are actually the healthiest. Anybody who’s trying to improve their health by sticking to a diet plan knows how difficult it can be to cut through all the promises and hype surrounding many diets. U.S. News determines their rankings by thoroughly combing through medical journals and government reports while also consulting with a panel of experts in nutrition, food psychology, obesity, diabetes and heart disease. This unbiased, third-party review examined 35 different diets to try cutting through the false claims.

Best Diets Overall

Each diet was heavily scrutinized in seven categories: nutritional completeness, safety, long-term weight loss results, short-term weight loss results, how easy it is to follow, diabetes prevention and heart disease prevention. They were then given a rating between 1 and 5. For the fifth year in a row, the #1 best diet overall was…

1. The DASH Diet (4.1) – Though relatively obscure, the DASH diet has beaten out all other diets since the inception of the U.S. News ranking system. DASH was originally developed to fight high blood pressure but has been proven to reduce the risk of several other diseases. The diet consists largely of fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, beans, nuts and seeds

2. TLC Diet (4.0) – The TLC (Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes) diet was created by the National Institutes of Health. It consists of a well-rounded plan that promotes cardiovascular health.

3. Mayo Clinic Diet (3.9) – The Mayo Clinic diet was found to be fairly effective for weight loss and diabetes prevention. It excels at promoting healthy eating as a lifelong habit.

3. Mediterranean Diet (3.9) – The Mediterranean Diet is thought to provide all sorts of health benefits, simply due to common-sense eating plans involving fruit, vegetables, fish and olive oil.

3. Weight Watchers (3.9) – Weight Watchers is the most highly-ranked commercial diet thanks to its safety, weight loss results, group support and ease of sticking with it.

The rest of the list was as follows:

6. Flexitarian Diet (3.8)
6. Volumetrics (3.8)
8. Jenny Craig (3.7)
9. Biggest Loser Diet (3.6)
9. Ornish Diet (3.6)
11. Traditional Asian Diet (3.5)
11. Vegetarian Diet (3.5)
13. Anti-Inflammatory Diet (3.3)
13. Slim-Fast (3.3)
13. Spark Solution Diet (3.3)
16. Flat Belly Diet (3.2)
16. HMR Diet (3.2)
16. Nutrisystem (3.2)
19. Abs Diet (3.0)
19. Engine 2 Diet (3.0)
19. South Beach Diet (3.0)
19. Vegan Diet (3.0)
24. Zone Diet (2.9)
24. Eco-Atkins Diet (2.9)
24. Glycemic-Index Diet (2.9)
26. Macrobiotic Diet (2.7)
26. Medifast (2.7)
28. Acid Alkaline Diet (2.6)
28. Supercharged Hormone Diet (2.6)
30. Body Reset Diet (2.5)
30. The Fast Diet (2.5)
32. Atkins (2.3)
32. Raw Food Diet (2.3)
34. Dukan Diet (2.0)
34. Paleo Diet (2.0)

There are some serious surprises here, as diets such as vegetarian and vegan are ranked well below diets that contain animal products. Also, the much-discussed and widely popular Paleo Diet ended up losing out to almost every other diet that was analyzed.

Best Diets For Weight Loss

The best diets had a different ranking when weight loss was the main concern. It seems that the experts favored diet plans that encouraged long-term weight loss. The top 10 best diets for weight loss were:

1. Weight Watchers (3.8)
2. HMR Diet (3.6)
3. Biggest Loser Diet (3.5)
3. Jenny Craig (3.5)
3. Raw Food Diet (3.5)
6. Volumetrics (3.4)
7. Atkins (3.3)
7. Flexitarian Diet (3.3)
7. Slim-Fast (3.3)
7. Vegan Diet (3.3)

Best Diets: The Bottom Line

The U.S. News ranking is a great resource if you want to eat healthier but don’t know where to start. Check out the full list to see the best diets for heart health, diabetes prevention and healthy eating, as well as the best commercial diets, the best plant-based diets and the easiest diets to follow. For more detailed and comprehensive reviews, check out our weight loss reviews section.