Dietary patterns that restrict specific foods, macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fats), or eating time are popular weight loss strategies in the U.S. and elsewhere. Researchers measured the quality of some popular dietary patterns and found them to be very different.
The diet quality indices used by researchers compare intake of food groups and nutrients to recommended intakes. Higher scores mean the food and nutrient intakes are more consistent with the criteria for a healthier dietary pattern.
In this study, carbohydrate-restricted, time-restricted, and high-protein diet patterns had lower average diet quality scores than the scores of the general population. This means weight loss diets that rely on these patterns are less nourishing choices. In contrast, pescatarian diet patterns (vegetarian diet plus seafood) scored the highest, followed by vegetarian and low-grain diets.
These findings suggest that, on average, certain popular diets get you much closer to healthier eating than others.