Evolution, Blood Types, and Weight Loss: A Critical Examination of a Popular Diet

Abstract

In a best-selling diet book D'Adamo & Whitney (1996) claim that an individual's ABO blood type is the single most important factor in determining the appropriate diet for weightloss and general health. This is based on the premise that the four different blood types have evolved within the past 50,000 years and that each type is an adaptation to a particular lifestyle and diet. While each of the four recommended diets, if followed for an extended period, would likely produce weight-loss in people suffering from obesity, modem genetic research indicates that the human ABO blood groups evolved millions of years ago and pre-date the existence of Homo sapiens. With no clinical evidence or theoretical basis to support them, the claims for the supposed curative functions of D'Adamo & Whitney's Blood Type Diet are misleading and potentially dangerous.