U.S. News Reveals the 2024 Best Diets

Mediterranean Diet tops list for seventh consecutive year.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in health rankings and consumer advice, today revealed the 2024 rankings of its annual evaluation of Best Diets. Partnering with The Harris Poll on the Best Diets methodology — and including input from a panel of leading health experts – this year's rankings examine 30 diets, with six additional diets evaluated since last year's Best Diets rankings.

For the seventh consecutive year, the Mediterranean diet takes the No. 1 spot for the Best Diets Overall, with its focus on diet quality rather than a single nutrient or food group and a daily consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, legumes, olive oil, herbs and spices. The Mediterranean diet also claimed the top spot in Best Diets for Diabetes, Best Heart-Healthy Diets, Easiest Diets to Follow, Best Diets for Bone and Joint Health, Best Family-Friendly Diets and Best Diets for Healthy Eating.

DASH diet — known for fighting high blood pressure, receives praise for its nutritional completeness, safety, ability to prevent or control diabetes and supporting heart health — comes in at No. 2 for Best Diet Overall this year. The No. 3 Best Overall diet is the MIND diet, which takes two proven diets, DASH and Mediterranean, with added focus on foods that improve brain health.

The 2024 Best Diets rankings feature six newly evaluated diets, including the Vegan diet, which cracked the top 10 in all categories except for Best Diet Programs. Other new diets include:  

• Dukan diet
• Herbalife Nutrition
• HMR Program
• Profile Plan
• Plantstrong

"Choosing a diet can be tough. Each person has unique health considerations and goals, and there are many diets out there to choose from — and it's hard to know which ones will actually work best for you," said Gretel Schueller, managing editor of health at U.S. News. "That's why U.S. News does the legwork for its users, gathering input from nationally recognized medical and nutrition experts to determine which diets rise to the top for nutritional completeness, ease of following and promoting a healthy lifestyle for the long term."

U.S. News ranks diets in 11 categories: Best Diets Overall, Best Weight Loss Diets, Best Fast Weight Loss Diets, Best Diabetes Diets, Best Diets for Bone and Joint Health, Best Diets for Healthy Eating, Best Diet Programs, Best Family-Friendly Diets, Best Heart-Healthy Diets, Best Plant-Based Diets and Easiest Diets to Follow. The rankings follow a methodology devised by U.S. News in partnership with The Harris Poll, which factors in evaluations from 43 expert panelists — including medical doctors, registered dietitian nutritionists, nutritional epidemiologists and academic weight-loss researchers.

2024 Best Diets Rankings
See the full rankings here.

Best Weight-Loss Diets
1. WeightWatchers (WW) diet
2. Mediterranean diet
3. Volumetrics diet

Best Fast Weight-Loss Diets
1. Keto diet
2. Atkins diet
3. HMR Program

Best Diabetes Diets
1. Mediterranean diet
2. DASH diet
3. Flexitarian diet

Best Diets for Bone and Joint Health
1. Mediterranean diet
2. DASH diet
3. Flexitarian diet

Best Diets for Healthy Eating
1. Mediterranean diet
2. Flexitarian diet
3. DASH diet

Best Diet Programs
1. Weight Watchers (WW) diet
2. Mayo Clinic diet
3. Noom diet

Best Family-Friendly Diets
1. Mediterranean diet
2. Flexitarian diet
3. DASH diet

Best Heart-Healthy Diets
1. Mediterranean diet
2. DASH diet
3. Ornish diet

Best Plant-Based Diets
1. Flexitarian diet
2. Mediterranean diet
3. Vegan diet

Easiest Diets to Follow
1. Mediterranean diet
2. Flexitarian diet
3. DASH diet

Those looking to choose a diet that's right for them should consult a medical professional as part of their decision making process.

For more information on the U.S. News Best Diets, explore Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram using #BestDiets.

About U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is the global leader in quality rankings that empower consumers, business leaders and policy officials to make better, more informed decisions about important issues affecting their lives and communities. A multifaceted digital media company with Education, Health, Money, Travel, Cars, News, Real Estate, Careers and 360 Reviews platforms, U.S. News provides rankings, independent reporting, data journalism, consumer advice and U.S. News Live events. More than 40 million people visit USNews.com each month for research and guidance. Founded in 1933, U.S. News is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

About The Harris Poll
The Harris Poll is a global public opinion, analytics, and market research consultancy that strives to reveal society's authentic values to inspire leaders to create a better tomorrow. With a global research reach of more than ninety countries, Harris offers advisory services across sectors to world leaders, CEOs, and business decision-makers with state-of-the-art analytics, real-time software services, and practitioners in marketing, reputation, customer experience, trends, futures, and thought leadership/research-for-public release, The Harris Poll translates shifting social sentiment into a competitive marketplace advantage. Harris is a Stagwell company. www.theharrispoll.com.

SOURCE U.S. News & World Report, L.P.