Overview

The Zone diet is a high-protein, low-calorie diet.

The Zone diet is used for obesity, general weight loss, and athletic performance.

The Zone diet encourages a person to eat more protein and fewer calories. This is intended to help with weight loss. It is also theorized that eating fewer calories can increase a person's lifespan. But there is no good scientific evidence to support this theory.

How does it work ?

The Zone diet encourages a person to eat more protein and fewer calories. This is intended to help with weight loss. It is also theorized that eating fewer calories can increase a person's lifespan. But there is no good scientific evidence to support this theory.

Uses & Effectiveness

Possibly Effective for

  • Obesity. Some research shows that people who follow the Zone diet lose weight and reduce their waist size. The diet seems to work about as well as other weight loss programs such as the LEARN and Ornish diets. The Zone diet might work as well as the Atkins diet. But some research shows that the Atkins diet is better for losing weight.

Insufficient Evidence for

  • Athletic performance. Early research shows that following the Zone diet for 7 days might worsen athletic performance.
  • Other conditions.

More evidence is needed to rate the Zone diet for these other uses.

Side Effects



Special Precautions and Warnings



The Zone diet is LIKELY SAFE when followed appropriately. No side effects have been reported with proper use.


Pregnancy and breast-feeding: There isn't enough reliable information to know if the Zone diet is safe to use when pregnant or breast-feeding. But there is no reason to expect safety issues as long as nutritional needs are met.

Interactions

We currently have no information for Zone Diet overview.

Dosing

The Zone diet asks people to reduce their calorie intake while eating foods that are high in protein. The diet also involves exercising, drinking plenty of water, and eating 5 small meals a day that are no more than 5 hours apart.
View References

CONDITIONS OF USE AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION: This information is meant to supplement, not replace advice from your doctor or healthcare provider and is not meant to cover all possible uses, precautions, interactions or adverse effects. This information may not fit your specific health circumstances. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your doctor or other qualified health care provider because of something you have read on WebMD. You should always speak with your doctor or health care professional before you start, stop, or change any prescribed part of your health care plan or treatment and to determine what course of therapy is right for you.

This copyrighted material is licensed from Therapeutic Research Center, LLC. Information from this source is evidence-based and objective, and without commercial influence. For professional medical information on natural medicines, see Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database Professional Version.
Licensed from Therapeutic Research Center, LLC
Copyright © 1995-2025 by Therapeutic Research Center, LLC. All Rights Reserved.