Popularity of Commercial and Non-Commercial Diets From 2010–2020: A Google Trends Analysis

Abstract

Abstract Objectives When looking to follow or change a diet, Americans have many choices across numerous commercial (COM) and non-commercial (NCOM) diets. Since the Internet is a go-to source for information, this study sought to use Google Trend Data (Google Search Interest; GSI) from 2010–2020 to examine the popularity of diets included in the 2021 U.S. News & World Reports’ (USN) Best Diet's Report. There were four aims: 1) identify which COM and NCOM diets had the highest GSI, 2) identify which diets had a higher GSI compared to the healthiest COM and NCOM diet (Weight Watchers and the Mediterranean Diet, respectively; determined by USN), 3) determine if any relationship exists between GSI and various USN healthfulness scores, and 4) determine which diet type (e.g., Balanced, Elimination, Low Calorie, etc.) has the highest GSI. Methods COM (n = 15) and NCOM (n = 24) diet names as well as their diet type (Balanced, Elimination, High protein, Low Calorie, Low Carbohydrate, or Low Fat) and scorings (Overall, Health, Managing or Preventing Diabetes, Heart-Health, Short-term and Long-term Weight Loss, Ease of Following, Nutrition, and Safety) were collected from USN and popularity was measured using GSI data (GSI Range: 0–100) collected from Google Trends for the United States from 2010–2020. Spearman or Pearson correlation analyses were used when necessary with alpha set to 0.05. Results Weight Watchers (mean GSI: 29.80) and the Keto Diet (mean GSI: 15.05) had the highest mean GSI over the past ten years of all COM and NCOM diets, respectively. While Weight Watchers had the highest mean GSI and was the highest ranked COM diet by USN, four diets had a higher GSI compared to the Mediterranean Diet (in descending order: Keto Diet, Paleo Diet, Vegan Diet, and the Fast Diet). The diet type with the highest mean GSI was low carbohydrate for both COM and NCOM diets. Mean GSI was not correlated with any of the USN diet scores (P > 0.05 for all). Conclusions These results suggest that numerous, less-healthful NCOM diets are more popular than the most healthful NCOM diet, the Mediterranean Diet. Understanding what attracts people to these less-healthful NCOM diets can provide insight into diet selection that can be used to better support diet choice. Funding Sources None.