By Kathryn Doyle (Reuters Health) – Though many experts recommend choosing a diet plan that seems appealing, a small new study in the U.S. suggests the results are likely to be the same as being assigned a diet at random. “It definitely is counterintuitive to what a lot of people think,” said lead author Dr. William S. Yancy Jr. of the Durham VA Medical Center in North Carolina. Long term, the diet plans he studied were similarly effective, but it seemed like giving patients a choice might help them stick to the plan, he said.