New Survey Finds 78 Percent Low-Carb Success Rate in Losing Weight

No Decrease in Low-Carb Dieting Behavior Seen

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 9 /PRNewswire/ -- A nationwide study on low-carb diets released today, has shown that most people who try low-carb diets successfully lose weight -- and a majority of low-carb dieters keep the weight off.

These results are from a survey of 900 adults, conducted independently by Opinion Dynamics Corporation in May 2004. The study found that 78 percent of Americans who have tried low-carb diets in the past two years successfully lost weight. Two-thirds of those people who lost weight have kept it off.

Opinion Dynamics has conducted monthly surveys of low-carb behavior over the past six months. The studies have shown that the percentage of the public currently on a low-carb diet, 12 percent of US adults, has neither increased nor decreased over the past six months.

"The success of the diets, not just in theory but in practice, is the primary reason for the popularity of the diets," said Lawrence Shiman, senior account executive for Opinion Dynamics. "Our research shows that current and former low-carb dieters are very loyal to the diets -- there is no evidence of an imminent decline of interest in the diets."

Additional findings include:

* Only 22 percent of people who have lost weight on low-carb diets say
that they regained some of the weight, and only 9 percent say that they
regained all the weight.

* The median amount of weight lost on low-carb diets is approximately 16
pounds.

* Even among people who have tried low-carb diets and have since
discontinued the diet, 71 percent say they lost weight, and a majority
has kept the weight off.

Results from the most recent Opinion Dynamics survey, entitled "The Success of Low-Carb Diets", are available in white paper form at http://www.opiniondynamics.com/lowcarb.html.