A year-long US study that compared the results of four popular diets with overweight pre-menopausal women revealed a clear “winner”, but didn’t really inspire confidence in terms of actual number of pounds lost.

The women involved in the study had a BMI (body mass index) of 27-40, which ranges from overweight to obese. The diets followed and compared were Atkins, the Zone, Ornish, and LEARN. Statistically speaking, the Zone, Ornish, and LEARN diets yielded virtually the same results, ranging from approximately 3.5 pounds to 5.7 pounds over the course of the year. The Atkins diet, however, yielded the largest weight loss in numbers–10.36 pounds.

Just over 10 pounds over the course of a year, however, falls short of what most overweight and particularly obese women are striving towards. Nevertheless, considering that of the four diet plans, Atkins has the lowest carbohydrate intake, we might conclude that lowering carbohydrates is the most ideal method for losing weight.

Other studies reveal that a person’s particular insulin response, whether they are high secretors or low secretors, can at least partially determine the type of diet that is most effective. The most impressive findings were for high insulin secretors, who were found to lose a significant amount of weight on a low glycemic diet plan. They didn’t fare as well on a low-fat diet.

A blood test will determine whether you are a high or low secretor, but there is a generalized rule of thumb that involves eyeballing body shape type. Generally, pear-shaped people (people who tend to gain weight first on the bottom and hips before they gain weight on the arms and waist) are low secretors; while high secretors generally sport an “apple” shape–they tend to gain weight first on their waist and upper body.

The Atkins diet, like many popular diet plans, has received a mixed bag of kudos and criticisms. While most studies and experts agree that lowering our intake of simple carbohydrates is beneficial, it’s the high fat and high protein elements of the Atkins diet that invites controversy. Some have recommended that this diet plan shouldn’t be followed for more than six months, for example, and in fact doesn’t have as successful results beyond the six-month point.

While it may be comforting to follow a specific diet plan, such as Atkins or the Zone, it may be worthwhile to read up on a number of different diet plans and pull out some of the better ideas from each. Of course, experimenting with different plans makes sense as well, simply because it is growing increasingly clear that there is no miracle diet that works for everyone, in spite of what many marketers will have you believe!