Talk:Zone diet

Clinical studies
Various authors of this page seem to be under the impression that there are no scientific studies backing up zone diet claims. As such, I have decided to list a few:

Skov AR, Toubro S, Ronn B, Holm L, and Astrup A. “Randomized trial on protein vs carbohydrate in ad libitum fat reduced diet for the treatment of obesity.” Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 23: 528-536 (1999).

Layman DK, Boileau RA, Erickson DJ, Painter JE, Shiue H, Sather C, and Christou DD. “A reduced ratio of dietary carbohydrate to protein improves body composition and blood lipid profiles during weight loss in adult women.” J Nutr 133: 411-417 (2003).

Fontani G, Corradeschi F, Felici A, Alfatti F, Bugarini R, Fiaschi AI, Cerretani D, Montorfano G, Rizzo AM, and Berra B. “Blood profiles, body fat and mood state in healthy subjects on different diets supplemented with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.” Eur J Clin Invest 35: 499-507 (2005).

Layman DK, Evans EM, Erickson D, Seyler J, Weber J, Bagshaw D, Griel A, Psota T, and Kris-Etherton P. “A moderate-protein diet produces sustained weight loss and long-term changes in body composition and blood lipids in obese adults.” J Nutr 139: 514-521 (2009).

Ebbeling CB, Leidig MM, Feldman HA, Lovesky MM, and Ludwig DS. “Effects of a low-glycemic-load vs low-fat diet in obese young adults: a randomized trial.” JAMA 297: 2092-2102 (2007).

Pittas AG, Das SK, Hajduk CL, Golden J, Saltzman E, Stark PC, Greenberg AS, and Roberts SB. "A low-glycemic-load diet facilitates greater weight loss in overweight adults with high insulin secretion but not in overweight adults with low insulin secretion in the CALERIE Trial." Diabetes Care 28: 2939-2941 (2005).

Larsen TM, Dalskov SM, van Baak M, Jebb SA, Papadaki A, Pfeiffer AF, Martinez JA, Handjieva-Darlenska T, Kunesova M, Pihlsgard M, Stender S, Holst C, Saris WH, and Astrup A. “Diets with high or low protein content and glycemic index for weight-loss maintenance.” N Engl J Med 363: 2102-2113 (2010).

Ludwig DS, Majzoub JA, Al-Zahrani A, Dallal GE, Blanco I, Roberts SB, Agus MS, Swain JF, Larson CL, and Eckert EA. “Dietary high-glycemic-index foods, overeating, and obesity.” Pediatrics 103: E26 (1999).

Agus MS, Swain JF, Larson CL, Eckert EA, and Ludwig DS. “Dietary composition and physiologic adaptations to energy restriction.” Am J Clin Nutr 71: 901-907 (2000).

Pereira MA, Swain J, Goldfine AB, Rifai N, and Ludwig DS. “Effects of a low-glycemic-load diet on resting energy expenditure and heart disease risk factors during weight loss.” JAMA 292: 2482-2490 (2004).

Pittas AG, Roberts SB, Das SK, Gilhooly CH, Saltzman E, Golden J, Stark PC, and Greenberg AS. “The effects of the dietary glycemic load on type 2 diabetes risk factors during weight loss.” Obesity 14: 2200-2209 (2006).

Johnston CS, Tjonn SL, Swan PD, White A, Hutchins H, and Sears B. “Ketogenic low-carbohydrate diets have no metabolic advantage over nonketogenic low-carbohydrate diets.” Am J Clin Nutr 83: 1055-1061 (2006).

Ornish D, Scherwitz LW, Billings JH, Brown SE, Gould KL, Merritt TA, Sparler S, Armstrong WT, Ports TA, Kirkeeide RL, Hogeboom C, and Brand RJ, “Intensive lifestyle changes for reversal of coronary heart disease.” JAMA 280: 2001-2007 (1998).

Wolfe BM and Piche LA. “Replacement of carbohydrate by protein in a conventional-fat diet reduces cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations in healthy normolipidemic subjects.” Clin Invest Med 22: 140-1488 (1999).

Dumesnil JG, Turgeon J, Tremblay A, Poirier P, Gilbert M, Gagnon L, St-Pierre S, Garneau C, Lemieux I, Pascot A, Bergeron J, and Despres JP. “Effect of a low-glycaemic index, low-fat, high-protein diet on the atherogenic metabolic risk profile of abdominally obese men.” Br J Nutr 86:557-568 (2001).

Markovic TP, Campbell LV, Balasubramanian S, Jenkins AB, Fleury AC, Simons LA, and Chisholm DJ. “Beneficial effect on average lipid levels from energy restriction and fat loss in obese individuals with or without type 2 diabetes.” Diabetes Care 21: 695-700 (1998). Layman DK, Shiue H, Sather C, Erickson DJ, and Baum J. “Increased dietary protein modifies glucose and insulin homeostasis in adult women during weight loss.” J Nutr 133: 405-410 (2003).

Gannon MC, Nuttall FQ, Saeed A, Jordan K, and Hoover H. “An increase in dietary protein improves the blood glucose response in persons with type 2 diabetes.” Am J Clin Nutr 78: 734-741 (2003).

Nuttall FQ, Gannon MC, Saeed A, Jordan K, and Hoover H. “The metabolic response of subjects with type 2 diabetes to a high-protein, weight-maintenance diet.” J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2003 88: 3577-3583 (2003).

Gannon MC and Nuttall FQ. “Control of blood glucose in type 2 diabetes without weight loss by modification of diet composition.” Nutr Metab (Lond) 3: 16 (2006).

Hamdy O and Carver C. “The Why WAIT program: improving clinical outcomes through weight management in type 2 diabetes.” Curr Diab Rep 8: 413-420 (2008).

Gardner CD, Kim S, Bersamin A, Dopler-Nelson M, Otten J, Oelrich B, and Cherin R. “Micronutrient quality of weight-loss diets that focus on macronutrients: results from the A TO Z study.” Am J Clin Nutr 92: 304-312 (2010).

Frankie B Stentz,1 Amy Brewer,1 Jim Wan,2 Channing Garber,1 Blake Daniels,1 Chris Sands,1 and Abbas E Kitabchi1. "Remission of pre-diabetes to normal glucose tolerance in obese adults with high protein versus high carbohydrate diet: randomized control trial" (2016). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 136.49.202.50 (talk) 21:30, 10 April 2019 (UTC)


 * Nothing usable here. Everybody can use a search engine, but for sources to be usable for health content they need to meet WP:MEDRS. Alexbrn (talk) 21:41, 10 April 2019 (UTC)
 * I agree with Alex, plus see my edsum on the article. -Roxy, the dog . wooF 21:44, 10 April 2019 (UTC)
 * Exactly what is unusable about this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 136.49.202.50 (talk) 22:42, 10 April 2019 (UTC)
 * Did you review the WP:MEDRS link provided by above? Specifically the concerns raised regarding the use of primary sources? Why MEDRS? may also be useful to you. --  Jezebel's Ponyo bons mots 23:00, 10 April 2019 (UTC)
 * There's a lot of information on that page. I have read the primary sources section and don't understand how it applies? These studies are not done by the author of the zone diet. Also, the comment in the article that caused me to list these studies specifically said there are no studies!!! Obviously not true, since I can list them. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 136.49.202.50 (talk) 23:07, 10 April 2019 (UTC)
 * Our article does not say there are "no studies". All the articles you listed are primary research. For background to WP:MEDRS, maybe read WP:WHYMEDRS - what we are looking for is secondary sources (e.g. reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analyses or statements from major medical bodies). Alexbrn (talk) 05:37, 11 April 2019 (UTC)
 * Oh, you're right, it doesn't say "no studies," it says "The ideas behind the diet are not supported by scientific evidence." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 136.49.202.50 (talk) 15:25, 11 April 2019 (UTC)
 * Which is a correct reflection of accepted knowledge as found in WP:RS. Alexbrn (talk) 15:29, 11 April 2019 (UTC)

Undue weight
It seems to me that the article gives undue weight to the critics of the diet. Sources are cited, but they do not give a balanced view, or in some cases even one that is factually accurate.

The lead is particularly unbalanced. Have a look at https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/zone-diet for a comparison.

The Zone is not a particularly low-carbohydrate or high-protein diet. It does tend to reduce carbohydrate levels, but it is about balance, not about severe reduction. See https://zonediet.com/the-zone-diet/ and note that the goal is 40% carbohydrate. Our current article lead would not suggest that at all. Andrewa (talk) 18:17, 6 June 2021 (UTC)