How U.S. News chooses the best diets

For this year's rankings, U.S. News partnered with The Harris Poll and a panel of 43 experts, including medical doctors, registered dietitian nutritionists, nutritional epidemiologists, and weight-loss researchers who are leaders in their field, to evaluate 30 diets.

When ranking the best overall diets, panelists considered four criteria:

• Nutritional completeness
• Health risks and benefits
• Long-term sustainability
• Evidence-based effectiveness

The experts also considered the strengths, weaknesses, and specific goals of each diet.

The diets were ranked 1 through 30 based on the difference between the percentage of times the diet was chosen as the most recommended minus the percentage of times it was chosen as the least recommended in a set of four. The diets with the greater positive difference were ranked higher.

Based on the total points received, the diets were ranked in order and rescaled so the leader in the category received a score of 100 and diets with no points received a score of zero. In addition, U.S. News created 10 sets of "Best Diets," including:

• Best diet programs
• Best weight-loss diets
• Best fast weight-loss diets
• Best diabetes diets
• Best heart-healthy diets
• Best diets for healthy eating
• Easiest diets to follow
• Best plant-based diets
• Best diets for bone and joint health
• Family-friendly diets

"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."

US News' best diets

The diets that made the top five on the "Best Diets Overall" list are:

1.       The Mediterranean Diet

2.       The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet

3.       The Mediterranean-DASH for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet

4.       The Mayo Clinic diet

5.       The Flexitarian diet

Meanwhile, the top diets on the other "Best Diet" rankings were:

• The WeightWatchers diet, which ranked No. 1 for "Best Weight-Loss Diets" and "Best Diet Programs"
• The Keto diet, which ranked No. 1 for "Best Fast Weight-Loss Diets"
• The Mediterranean diet, which ranked No. 1 for "Best Family-Friendly Diets," "Best Diabetes Diets," "Best Heart-Healthy Diets," "Best Diets for Bone and Joint Health," "Best Diets for Healthy Eating," and "Easiest Diets to Follow"
• The Flexitarian diet, which ranked No. 1 for "Best Plant-Based Diets"

(U.S. News & World Report, "Best Diets" rankings , 1/3; U.S. News & World Report press release, 1/3; U.S. News & World Report "Best Diets" methodology, 1/3)

Insurance companies and food startups are working to connect health coverage and nutritious diets to protect against certain diseases and promote overall health, Patrick Thomas and Jacob Bunge write for the Wall Street Journal.