A program offered by the School of Medicine's Wellness & Weight Management Center and created by HMR Weight Management Services (HMR) has been named the No. 2 Best Weight-Loss Diet in U.S. News & World Reports' Best Diets of 2015. The ranking was based on both short and long-term weight-loss ratings of the HMR Program.

HMR's programs focus on integrating diet, physical activity and healthy lifestyle skills through weekly coaching. This is the first time that HMR's diet program has been included in the annual rankings list. HMR was evaluated against 34 other diets in categories including easiness to follow, ability to produce short and long-term weight loss, nutritional completeness, safety, and potential to prevent and manage diabetes and heart disease.

During the ranking process, reporters and editors from U.S. News & World Report created in-depth profiles of each diet, and a panel of nationally recognized experts on diet, nutrition, obesity, food psychology, diabetes and heart disease rated the diets and their effectiveness.

The Wellness & Weight Management Center has offered the HMR program for 11 years to community members who are interested in losing weight.

"We are pleased that HMR's weight-loss program, which we offer at the Wellness & Weight Management Center, has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the most effective diets for weight loss," says Karmella Thomas, RD, LD, CDE and HMR program director. "The program is effective at helping our patients achieve weight loss, which can result in improvement in risk factors for the development of conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. The weight loss may also lead to a decrease in the need for medications for some individuals who have developed these conditions."

The HMR program is available in hospitals and medical centers or can be used by participants at home. Studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of the HMR program in supporting weight loss. Research shows 47 lbs. average weight loss for a mix of HMR Decision-Free® and Healthy Solutions® clinic patients with a BMI of 40 or greater who completed the program for at least 12 weeks.