Individuals on a low glycemic diet are not likely to experience any greater weight loss than dieters who consume foods that are higher on the glycemic index, according to researchers at Tufts University.

Researchers at the Jean Mayer U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging recently released the results of a year-long study of low-calorie diets. Study participants cut back their caloric intake by 30 percent over 12 months. Researchers found that even though diets differed in glycemic loads long-term weight loss was quite similar. The participants lost an average of eight percent of their body weight while experiencing similar changes in energy and metabolism. Interestingly, researchers also found that participants who followed low glycemic load diets were more likely to regain weight later on than those on high glycemic load diets.

Low-glycemic diets have traditionally been prescribed to diabetics as a way help control blood glucose levels. However, since the inception of low-carb diets glycemic indexing has been embraced as a method of weight loss. Now, in the wake of these findings popular GI diets, including the Ultimate GI Jeans Diet by Rosemary Conley, could become obsolete. After all, why would anyone spend a great deal of time measuring low glycemic and high glycemic foods when it may cause any significant increase in weight loss? It would be much simpler to just follow a low-carb diet.