The New DIETs (New Dietary Interventions to Enhance the Treatments) for weight loss study was a 2-mo weight loss intervention with a 4-mo follow-up period. Recruitment and exclusion criteria are described elsewhere [11]. Briefly, overweight or obese (body mass index [BMI] 25–49.9 kg/m2) adults, who were interested in losing weight, were between the ages of 18 and 65 y with a stable
medical status (e.g., no uncontrolled thyroid conditions or diabetes), and were willing to accept random assignment of diet, were recruited through worksite listserv messages and newspaper ads. Participants attended an orientation ses- sion to learn about questionnaires and complete a consent form. Participants were informed that the purpose of the study was to assess changes in body weight after randomization to one of five different diets. Questionnaires assessed demographic characteristics, dietary intake from 2 d of unannounced 24-h di- etary recalls (one weekday and one weekend day) collected and analyzed using the automated self-administered 24-h dietary recall [12], and physical activity (Paffenbarger Physical Activity Questionnaire) [13].