Browse the evidence

Parosmia can cause severe food aversion and rapid weight loss due to the perception of common foods as having foul, metallic, or rotten odors.

If food smells or tastes rotten (parosmia), you may lose weight. Identify 'safe' foods that do not trigger the distortion (e.g., plain yogurt, cold fruits, bland staples). Eat small, frequent meals of these safe foods to maintain nutrition. Do not force yourself to eat foods that trigger nausea, as this can worsen the aversion.

Digital health technologies, including exergames and telemedicine, facilitate adherence to physical activity and reduce social isolation during confinement, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly.

Use digital tools to stay connected and active. If you are elderly or socially isolated, consider exergames or telemedicine programs that allow you to exercise with others virtually. Ensure you have internet access, as it is a key factor in maintaining wellbeing during isolation.

Religious fasting practices, such as Ramadan, Greek Orthodox fasting, and the Daniel Fast, have mixed effects on health biomarkers, including cardiovascular, glucoregulatory, and oxidative stress markers.

Religious fasting practices vary widely in their health effects. Some may improve certain biomarkers, while others may have no effect or even negative effects. It is important to be mindful of dietary choices during non-fasting periods.

Multimodal physical interventions (e.g., Tai Chi, subsensory vibratory noise) restore physiological complexity and improve functional mobility in older adults.

Focus on activities that challenge your body's balance and coordination, like Tai Chi or using specific vibratory devices if recommended. These aren't just exercises; they help your nervous system maintain the 'complexity' needed to stay mobile and avoid falls as you age.

Obesity is associated with a 'NEAT defect' where obese individuals sit significantly more and walk significantly less than lean individuals, independent of body weight.

If you are obese, recognize that your tendency to sit may be a learned or biological 'NEAT defect' rather than just a physical limitation. Try to consciously increase standing and walking time, even in small increments, as this can help reverse the energy deficit. Focus on environmental changes (like standing desks) to make movement easier.

Multi-component in-store interventions (combining price, information, and availability) are effective at increasing the purchase and consumption of healthy foods, whereas single-component interventions (especially information-only) often fail to produce sustained effects.

To effectively promote healthy eating in stores, do not rely on labels or posters alone. Combine clear information with tangible incentives like discounts (price) and ensure healthy foods are physically accessible and visible (availability).

Aerobic exercise stimulates neuronal plasticity (specifically neurogenesis in the hippocampus) and improves executive functioning in older adults, with effects comparable to or distinct from strength training.

Incorporate regular aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, for at least 45 minutes, three times a week. Research indicates this specific type of exercise stimulates the growth of new neurons in the hippocampus and improves executive attention and working memory in older adults more effectively than strength training or stretching alone.

Attention bias toward food in obese individuals is not consistently characterized by approach (craving); it can also manifest as avoidance (worry) or show no difference compared to healthy-weight individuals.

Don't assume that your attention to food is always a sign of craving. For some, it might be worry or dieting intentions causing avoidance. If you find yourself avoiding food cues, it might be because you are trying to restrict intake. Recognizing this can help you address the underlying motivation rather than just fighting the attention itself.

Chronic thwarting of basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness) drives disordered eating through the adoption of 'need substitutes' (e.g., thin-ideal) and 'compensatory behaviors' (e.g., rigid restriction or binge eating).

If you are struggling with rigid dieting or binge eating, look beyond the food itself. Ask if your current approach is making you feel controlled, incompetent, or isolated. Sustainable change comes from satisfying these psychological needs—by choosing foods that align with your values (autonomy), feeling capable of managing your intake (competence), and feeling supported by others (relatedness)—rather than imposing strict, external rules that likely trigger compensatory behaviors.

Autonomous motivation and general self-determination buffer against sociocultural pressures to be thin and reduce the endorsement of the thin-ideal, leading to healthier eating behaviors.

To protect yourself from societal pressure to be thin, focus on developing autonomous motivation. Ask yourself why you are regulating your eating. If it is to align with your own health values (autonomy), feel capable of managing your body (competence), and feel connected to others (relatedness), you are less likely to succumb to the thin-ideal and more likely to engage in healthy, sustainable eating behaviors.

Physical activity is associated with a reduction in energy intake among dieters, with 44% of physically active participants reporting eating less after exercise compared to 10% who ate more.

Exercise can help you eat less for many people. If you are physically active, you might find it easier to stick to your diet because you naturally eat less after working out.

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health measures (social distancing, quarantine) caused a significant decrease in physical activity and exercise levels in older adults living independently, with nearly half of the sample reporting reduced activity.

If you are an older adult, be aware that the pandemic's restrictions likely caused you to be less active. This is a common and understandable reaction to fear and isolation. To counteract this, focus on safe, home-based exercises or low-density outdoor activities. Reconnecting with others, even virtually, can help restore your motivation to move.

Repeated physical activity performed in natural environments provides greater benefits for emotional well-being compared to physical activity in built indoor or outdoor environments.

To maximize mental health benefits from exercise, prioritize doing it in natural settings like parks or forests over indoor gyms or built urban areas. While general health improves with exercise anywhere, your mood and emotional state will likely improve more if you exercise outdoors in nature.

Physical activity performed in natural environments is positively associated with perceived general health, though this benefit is not exclusive to nature and is also seen in built environments.

Exercise in nature improves general health, but so does exercise in built environments like streets or gyms. If your goal is purely general health, the location matters less than consistency. However, if you also want better mood, choose nature.

Mandatory front-of-package warning labels on foods high in critical nutrients increase consumer awareness of product unhealthiness and drive purchase decisions toward healthier alternatives, particularly among mothers and young children.

Use front-of-package warning labels as a quick visual shortcut when shopping. Products with more warning labels are less healthy. Prioritize products with fewer or no labels, especially when trying new items. Involve children in this process, as they often become the primary drivers of healthier choices at home.

Restricting the sale of high-energy, high-sugar, high-saturated fat, and high-sodium (HEFSS) foods in schools, combined with teacher promotion of healthy snacks, shifts children's dietary preferences toward healthier options, particularly in younger children.

Support school food policies that restrict unhealthy options. Encourage your child to try the healthier options available at school, as they are often more accepted by peers. Be mindful of the social pressure to send healthy snacks, but recognize it as a positive force for your child's long-term health.

Brief negotiation (motivational interviewing) is more effective than direct advice for increasing physical activity among patients who complete the intervention.

If you are a healthcare provider, use brief negotiation techniques (listening, exploring pros/cons) rather than telling patients to exercise. This approach yields better results for those who engage with the program.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and mindfulness-based interventions produce significant weight loss effects, whereas other mindfulness approaches primarily improve psychological health and eating-related factors without necessarily reducing weight.

If you are trying to lose weight, look for Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) rather than generic mindfulness meditation. ACT focuses on committing to valued behaviors (like healthy eating) despite discomfort, which has been shown to significantly reduce weight, whereas general mindfulness may just improve your mood or eating awareness without dropping pounds.

Integrating mobile health (m-Health) technology and health coaching with physical activity interventions reduces care-seeking rates in patients with chronic low back pain compared to standard care advice alone.

For chronic low back pain patients, simply being told to 'stay active' is often insufficient to prevent future flare-ups and doctor visits. A structured approach combining a wearable activity tracker (like a Fitbit), a dedicated mobile app for goal tracking, and regular check-ins with a health coach (via phone) can significantly reduce the need for further medical care. This method helps maintain physical activity habits after formal treatment ends, even if it doesn't drastically change pain levels immediately.

A 'Healthy' dietary pattern (characterized by high vegetable consumption) is associated with a lower likelihood of depressive symptoms, but this association may be driven by reverse causality (i.e., depressed individuals are less likely to eat healthy).

While eating a diet high in vegetables is linked to lower depression, this study suggests it might be because mentally healthy people are more likely to eat vegetables, rather than vegetables directly curing depression. Focus on small, sustainable changes rather than expecting diet to fix mood disorders alone.

For individuals with Type 1 Diabetes, stopping work and staying at home during lockdown significantly improves short-term glycemic control (lower average glucose, increased time in range) compared to continuing work, likely due to reduced workplace stress and more regular routines.

If you have Type 1 Diabetes and your routine is disrupted (e.g., working from home, lockdown), focus on stabilizing your daily routine rather than stressing about exercise. The study suggests that reducing workplace stress and maintaining regular meal/insulin timing can significantly improve glucose control, even if you are less active. Monitor your time in range, as it increased significantly in those who slowed down.

Lifestyle management, specifically focusing on healthy lifestyle, emotional wellbeing, and quality of life, is a foundational recommendation for the assessment and management of PCOS, with explicit attention to avoiding weight stigma.

For someone with PCOS, prioritize sustainable lifestyle habits that support your mental and physical health rather than chasing rapid weight loss. Work with your healthcare provider to create a plan that respects your body image and addresses emotional wellbeing, as this is a critical part of managing the syndrome's diverse burdens.

Higher time discounting (a preference for immediate rewards over delayed benefits) is positively associated with unhealthy diets, overweight, and obesity.

If you find yourself choosing unhealthy food despite wanting to be healthy, it may not just be a lack of willpower. Your brain might be 'discounting' the future health benefits too heavily in favor of immediate taste. To counter this, make healthy choices easier and more immediate (e.g., pre-prepared meals) and make unhealthy choices harder to access.

Lower time discounting is associated with greater success in weight loss and weight maintenance interventions.

If you struggle to stick to a diet, your brain might be prioritizing immediate food rewards over future health goals. Standard advice might not work for you. Try breaking goals into smaller, immediate rewards and focus on making healthy choices the path of least resistance.