The Best and Worst Diets of 2024, According to U.S. News & World Report

Now in its 14th year, U.S. News Best Diets has released its rankings for 30 popular diets across 11 categories based on various criteria, from their healthiness to the likelihood of their helping you lose weight.

So, before you choose a new eating plan or diet, read about the best – and worst – rankings, just in time to capitalize on those New Year’s resolutions you’ve just begun.

On any given day, millions of people in the U.S. are trying to lose weight. More than half of Americans reported that they followed a specific eating pattern or diet at some point in the past year, according to the International Food Information Council’s 2023 Food & Health Survey.

Yet, only 20% of dieters will be able to keep their weight off. The truth is dieting is hard. Many fad diets don’t work, and some can even threaten your health.

U.S. News Best Diets 2024 cuts through the diet chatter to get to the bones of which plans are most likely to help you reach your goals – whether that’s losing weight, managing a health condition (like high blood pressure or diabetes) or simply wanting to eat healthier – so you can decide, in consultation with your doctor or other health professional, which diet is best for you.

To create the latest edition of the rankings, U.S. News health editors spent months considering potential additions to our roster of diets. For 2024, the health team added six new diets: 

We mined medical journals, government reports and other resources and interviewed leading health and nutrition experts to create in-depth profiles for each diet.

Each profile explains how the diet works, determines whether its claims are realistic, scrutinizes it for possible health risks and reveals what it’s like to live on the diet. Each diet profile includes a sample meal plan, foods to eat and avoid, tips to succeed on the diet and scientific studies that support any health benefits.

Our Best Diets panelists, 43 experts – including medical doctors, registered dietitian nutritionists, nutritional epidemiologists and weight loss researchers who are leaders in their field – thoroughly evaluated all 30 diets.

We worked with The Harris Poll to devise the methodology used in this year’s rankings. When considering Best Diets Overall, panelists considered:

They also considered each diet’s strengths and weaknesses and the specific goals each diet might be most effective at addressing, which they shared in open-ended responses. The Best Diets panelists also shared aspects of each diet they particularly liked or disliked and provided advice for those considering the plan. The latest rankings, which feature everything from the Mediterranean diet to the popular keto diet, can help you find the top plan for you.

The plant-forward Mediterranean diet is more of a lifestyle approach than a diet, which is why it has such staying power. Experts like it because it’s healthy, delicious and offers variety and flexibility. Plus, it doesn’t restrict any food or food group. It’s backed by a tremendous amount of sound science that demonstrates a wide range of health benefits.

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, olive oil and seafood, while red meat and sweets are occasional treats. The Mediterranean diet is a prime example of the fact that dieting can taste good – it doesn’t have to mean bland or pre-packaged food.

Coming in at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, are the DASH diet and the MIND diet, which both follow these essential tenets of healthy eating.

The DASH diet, which was specifically designed to stop or prevent high blood pressure, offers a little more structure. It restricts sodium and saturated fat, capping daily sodium intake at 2,300 milligrams and limiting fatty meats and tropical oils high in saturated fat. But this well-balanced eating pattern is suitable for anyone, regardless of their health status.

The MIND diet, in third place, is a combination of the DASH and Mediterranean diets. MIND stands for Mediterranean-DASH intervention for neurodegenerative delay and has the same basic whole-food focus as both diets. The big difference is that it focuses on foods believed to improve brain health, foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, nuts, berries and dark leafy greens.

These diets facilitate weight loss at a healthy rate of 1 to 2 pounds a week and maintain it for the long term.

These diets fulfill the short-term goal of losing weight quickly (in three months or less), even if it’s not sustainable for the long term.

These diets are most effective at managing diabetes or prediabetes.

These eating plans reduce inflammation and include nutrients and vitamins to support healthy bones and joints.

These diets support overall healthy eating. They allow for an optimal intake of essential nutrients and don’t restrict entire food groups. They also provide sufficient calories and don’t fall short on essential nutrients.

This category includes commercial diets with structured programs that offer support for dieters, which can include in-person or online coaching and support, as well as packaged foods, bars or drinks that help members follow the diet plan. Additional support and resources may include food tracking apps, meal plans and recipes.

These eating plans are well-suited for families of all types to eat healthfully together. These diets are flexible for budgetary, cultural and religious preferences. They are also easily adaptable for various ages, body types and activity levels.

These diets are for people who want to improve heart health – from helping control blood pressure to reducing cholesterol.

These healthy, plant-based diets range from entirely vegan to those that allow for a flexible mix of plant-forward foods with occasional servings of meat, seafood and poultry. They also ensure an optimal intake of essential nutrients.

These diets don’t require hard-to-remember rules, rigorous calorie counting, hard-to-find ingredients or excessive meal prepping.

Whether your goal is weight loss, avoiding or managing diabetes, improving your cardiovascular health or some combination of these, it’s important to be aware of potential diet red flags, such as extreme restrictions in foods or calories.

When it comes to dieting to lose weight, lots of people think strictly in terms of foods they need to subtract entirely from their eating regimen. Instead of focusing on giving up sugar or carbs, focus on what you should add to your diet, such as fresh vegetables, whole grains, more seafood or simply more nuts and seeds.

Due to their lack of flexibility, overly restrictive nature, reliance on processed foods and supplements, and the possible nutritional imbalances that may result from following these programs, the worst overall diets of 2024 include:

Rather than focusing on lifestyle changes, these plans present a quick fix that’s not sustainable for the long term.

Regardless of the category or your desired goal – better heart health, lower diabetes risk, stronger bones or weight loss – the U.S. News best diets of 2024 have a few things in common:

The hallmarks of a best diet include balance, maintainability, palatability, family-friendliness, sustainability and healthfulness. And the best diet for you, according to our panel of doctors and dietitians, is the one you can stick with for life and one in which you don’t feel deprived.

It’s important to keep in mind that a healthy diet isn’t only about losing weight. A healthy diet is one that improves health and helps fight disease. We know that there is not one diet that’s right for everyone, so it’s important to follow an eating plan that’s packed with tasty, healthy foods that keep your unique lifestyle in mind.