The Worst Place to Look for Weight-Loss Advice

So you're embarking on a diet, and you're doing a quick Web search to see if anything new comes up that can help you shed the pounds. Do yourself a favor, and skip over the first page of results. A new study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that the first page often includes less reliable or downright bogus links, compared with the second and later pages. Even more troubling: The first few links on that initial page receive 90 percent of Web search clicks, according to researchers.

About 43 percent of Internet users go online to search for weight-loss info, according to the study, so the research team decided to examine just how credible information turned up by Web searching is. A study sample of about 20 people gave them a sense of what diet-related search terms to use (for example, "weight loss"). Next, they plugged the terms into Google and focused on the first page of results. Their conclusion: most of the sites were "suboptimal." More than half made unsubstantiated claims, particularly concerning nutritional info. And while medical or university-based sites were the least likely to report inaccurate info, these only made up 14 percent of the results, with most of the links being for paid ads, product Web sites, and blogs.

So when you're frantic to find out just how much sugar is in the snack you're considering buying—or you've heard about a flat-belly pill and want to find out the deets—who can you trust? Here's a quick guide. "Avoid any site that relies on personal testimonials or too-good-to-be-true advice—for example: 'Lose weight guaranteed,' or 'Miracle diet pills,'" says Maggie Moon, R.D., a Los Angeles-based nutritionist and owner of Everyday Healthy Eating. For the most part, go with dot-gov, dot-org, or dot-edu sites, which means it comes from a school, hospital, or government source, rather than dot-coms. (Though there are exceptions, like womenshealthmag.com, which consults reliable experts and resources while conducing its weight-loss reporting). Also, avoid any ad—you can tell it's an advertisement on Google when it has a yellow ad icon on the left side. The paid-for link may be reputable, but most likely, whoever made it is more concerned with peddling something than conveying accurate info, says Moon.

1. Prev:Can Exercise Make You GAIN Weight?
2. Next:The Dangers of HCG Injections