Reading between the lines for a slimmer you

An overview of some of this year's range of dieting books.

•The Japan Diet - the secret to effective and lasting weight loss by Naomi Moriyama and William Doyle (Vermilion). Star rating: ****

Written in an accessible, easy-to- read style, this book offers plenty of good advice on healthy eating that anyone could take on board without ever tasting sushi. Moriyama also highlights the importance of integrating your exercise into your everyday life which is a valuable piece of advise. However, changing your entire diet to Japanese food is much more onerous and I suspect only those already hooked on steamed rice, sea vegetables and miso soup will succeed.

•Drop a Size GI Diet - fast, easy, forever by Joanne Hall (Harper Thorsons). Star rating: ***

The well-known English health and fitness expert jumps on the GI bandwagon with this book yet she can't stop herself focusing much more on exercise than food. Hall does, however, offer straightforward healthy eating advice and explains basic nutritional concepts well alongside her convincing walking programme. Her menu plans sound very tasty but the idea of not eating any carbohydrate foods after 5pm (the carb curfew) is unworkable.

•The Sonoma Diet - slimmer, trimmer and healthier in just 10 days by Dr Connie Guttersen. Star rating: ***

Based on the Mediterranean diet (the Sonoma valley in California has a similar climate and tomatoes, olives and grapes grow well there), this diet book is useful for people who eat out a lot and need advice on choosing healthy restaurant and pre-prepared foods. Guttersen also includes a useful section on clearing out all the unhealthy foods from your kitchen and re-stocking with healthy ones. However, she writes in a way that makes you want to live in California and that's not very helpful.

•The Duvet Diet - sleep yourself slim by Jane Worthington with Dr Adam Fletcher and Dr Clare Collins (Rodale). Star rating: **

As you might suspect, this book is all about improving your sleep which will then improve your eating habits. There is a lot of common sense (cut out late night dinners, caffeine, cigarettes and alcohol) with very little science. It's written for people who are so tired that they hadn't really noticed that they are overweight and perhaps there are a lot more people like that than we care to admit.

•The Perricone Weight Loss Diet - a simple three-part program to lose the fat, the wrinkles and the years by Dr Nicholas Perricone. Star rating: *

This book is written by a dermatologist who introduces unnecessarily difficult scientific concepts and a complicated plan to lose weight. Perricone presents his top 10 food groups (fish is top of the list) and 12 nutritional supplements that facilitate weight loss but you're just left feeling that there must be an easier way.