Browse the evidence

Cancer survivors, particularly those with early-stage breast or prostate carcinoma, exhibit high receptivity to health promotion interventions delivered via mailed brochures, with a strong preference for initiating these programs at or shortly after diagnosis (within 6 months).

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with early-stage breast or prostate cancer, expect that health providers may send you informational brochures by mail soon after diagnosis. This is a recommended and preferred method for many survivors to learn about diet, exercise, and smoking cessation changes without the pressure of immediate face-to-face counseling. Review these materials at your own pace.

Cancer survivors demonstrate high levels of routine physical activity compared to the general population, with many maintaining exercise habits for over 6 months, although a significant portion remains sedentary.

Many cancer survivors are already physically active, often more so than the general population. If you are not currently exercising, you are not alone, as 40% of respondents reported no routine exercise. Consider starting with moderate activity, such as walking, and utilize mailed educational resources to help establish a sustainable routine.

In older adults, a higher percentage of time spent in sedentary behavior and fewer breaks in sedentary time are associated with a significantly greater likelihood of metabolic syndrome, independent of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels.

If you are over 60, simply exercising for an hour a day may not be enough to protect your metabolic health if you sit for the rest of the day. To lower your risk of metabolic syndrome, focus on reducing your total sitting time and, crucially, breaking up long periods of sitting with brief movements or standing up frequently throughout the day.

Sleep continuity disturbance (forced awakenings) impairs endogenous pain-inhibitory function (DNIC) and increases spontaneous pain, whereas simple sleep restriction without continuity disturbance does not.

If you suffer from chronic pain, prioritize sleep continuity over just total hours. Frequent awakenings (even if you get enough total time) can disable your body's natural pain-killing systems. Focus on uninterrupted sleep blocks rather than just time in bed.

Walking as a mode of active commuting is associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence and mortality, but not all-cause mortality or cancer outcomes, compared to non-active commuting.

Walking to work is a great way to protect your heart. This study links walking to lower heart disease risk. However, it didn't significantly lower death rates or cancer risk like cycling did. If you can't cycle, walking is still a valuable health habit, especially if you walk longer distances.

Mixed-mode commuting that includes cycling is associated with lower risks of all-cause mortality, cancer incidence, and cancer mortality compared to non-active commuting.

If you can't cycle the whole way, try mixing it in. This study links mixed-mode commuting (driving + cycling part of the way) to lower death and cancer risks. It didn't help as much as pure cycling, but it's still better than driving alone. Walking as part of a mixed commute didn't show benefits.

Prescribed moderate-intensity exercise does not increase the risk of injury or illness in overweight and obese adults compared to sedentary controls; injury risk is driven by BMI, not exercise volume.

If you are overweight or obese, starting a moderate walking program (150-300 minutes/week) will not increase your risk of injury compared to staying sedentary. Your body weight (BMI) is a stronger predictor of injury than the exercise itself. Focus on gradual progression and weight loss to reduce injury risk.

The Multiple Traffic Light (MTL) front-of-package labeling system is the most effective existing labeling format for helping consumers correctly identify healthier food products compared to other systems like %Daily Intake or monochrome labels.

Look for products with a Multiple Traffic Light (MTL) label. The green lights indicate lower levels of fat, sugar, and sodium, while red lights indicate higher levels. This system is currently the most reliable visual tool for quickly identifying healthier options on the shelf, more so than labels that just show percentages or simple checkmarks.

Front-of-package labeling systems, particularly those with clear criteria like the Multiple Traffic Light or Choices logo, can drive industry product reformulation, leading to reduced sodium, saturated fat, and added sugar in processed foods.

Support labeling systems that require manufacturers to meet specific nutrient criteria (like low sodium or sugar limits) to display a favorable label. This forces companies to improve the actual nutritional content of their products, benefiting everyone, not just those who read labels.

Front-of-package labels that include interpretive text (e.g., 'High', 'Medium', 'Low') significantly improve label comprehension and correct nutrient identification compared to labels using only percentages or colors alone.

Choose labels that use simple text like 'High', 'Medium', or 'Low' alongside colors. This combination is the easiest way to quickly understand if a food is healthy or unhealthy without needing to calculate percentages.

A positive diagnosis of 'food addiction' using the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) is strongly associated with higher BMI and binge eating behavior, but this association does not validate 'food addiction' as a distinct neurobiological disease or causal driver of obesity.

If you score high on the YFAS, it likely indicates you struggle with binge eating and psychological distress, not necessarily that you have a unique 'food addiction' disease. Focus on managing binge eating behaviors and psychological factors rather than treating it as a distinct biological addiction, as the evidence for a unique disease phenotype is weak.

Self-reported sleep duration exceeding 8 hours per night is associated with a moderate increase in all-cause mortality, with risk ratios rising significantly for 9, 10, and 11 hours of sleep.

Aim for 7 to 8 hours of sleep. While sleeping less than 7 hours showed no significant increased mortality risk in this specific meta-analysis, sleeping more than 8 hours was associated with a moderate but significant increase in all-cause mortality. If you consistently require more than 8 hours of sleep, consider it a marker for elevated cardiovascular risk and consult a healthcare provider to rule out underlying conditions.

Subjective poor sleep quality is associated with a significant increase in coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, but not with all-cause mortality or other cardiovascular outcomes.

Focus on sleep quality, not just duration. If you frequently report poor sleep quality (restless, disturbed nights), you have a 44% higher risk of coronary heart disease. Address sleep disturbances through sleep hygiene or medical evaluation, as this is a specific risk factor for heart disease.

Extreme sleep durations (≤4 hours or ≥10 hours per night) are associated with significantly faster rates of global cognitive decline in older adults compared to a reference duration of 7 hours per night.

If you are over 45, aim for approximately 7 hours of sleep per night. Both sleeping 4 hours or less and 10 hours or more are associated with faster cognitive decline. If you consistently sleep outside this range, consider monitoring your cognitive health and consulting a healthcare provider to rule out underlying issues like sleep apnea (for long sleepers) or insomnia (for short sleepers).

Implementing a sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) excise tax significantly reduces SSB consumption and increases water consumption in low-income neighborhoods.

If you live in a city with an SSB tax, expect to drink less sugary soda and more water. The tax makes sugary drinks more expensive, which encourages healthier choices. The revenue from the tax is often used to fund public health programs, which can benefit your community.

Fiscal disincentives (taxes on unhealthy foods) paired with incentives (subsidies for healthy foods) are more effective at improving population diet quality and reducing health disparities than voluntary education or labeling alone.

If you are a policymaker, prioritize taxes on sugary drinks and junk food, but use the revenue to subsidize fruits and vegetables. This approach has stronger evidence for improving health than just telling people to eat better.

Government procurement standards for schools, worksites, and healthcare settings are low-cost, sustainable, and effective interventions for improving diet quality.

If you manage a cafeteria or food service, implement strict nutrition standards for all food purchased. This is a proven, low-cost way to improve the health of the people you serve without relying on their willpower.

Dietary counseling interventions produce a modest net weight loss of approximately 2 BMI units (6%) at 12 months compared to usual care, but this benefit diminishes significantly over time as participants regain weight during the maintenance phase.

Dietary counseling helps you lose about 6% of your body weight in the first year, but you will likely regain much of it if you stop the active support. To keep the weight off, you need ongoing maintenance strategies, as the initial benefits fade over time.

Motivational Interviewing (MI) and avoiding stigmatization are critical components of obesity management that improve patient adherence, self-esteem, and treatment efficacy.

Work with your doctor to build a trusting relationship. Use Motivational Interviewing techniques to identify your own reasons for wanting to change. Focus on small, realistic goals and celebrate progress in health, not just weight.

Exposure to digital images of appetizing food (visual hunger) triggers neural, physiological, and attentional responses that increase food craving and consumption, potentially exacerbating obesity.

Be aware that scrolling through food images on social media or watching cooking shows can trigger physiological hunger responses and increase your likelihood of overeating when you do consume food. If you are trying to manage your weight, consider limiting exposure to highly appetizing food imagery, especially when you are already hungry.

Individuals with high scores on the Ford Insomnia Response to Stress Test (FIRST) exhibit significantly lower sleep efficiency and increased sleep latency during a first night in the laboratory compared to those with low scores, indicating a trait vulnerability to stress-related sleep disturbance.

If you find that stressful events consistently ruin your sleep, you may have a physiological trait called 'stress-related vulnerability.' This isn't a character flaw; it's a predisposition. Understanding this can help you manage expectations and seek targeted interventions (like stress management techniques) rather than just blaming yourself for poor sleep hygiene.

Self-reported physical activity questionnaires (IPAQ) significantly underestimate the strength of the relationship between moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and metabolic risk biomarkers (insulin, triglycerides, HOMA-IR) compared to objective accelerometer measurements.

If you are using a fitness tracker, trust its data on metabolic health more than your memory of how much you moved. Self-reporting tends to overestimate activity and underestimate its health benefits. For precise health risk assessment, objective measurement is superior.

The observed antidepressant effect of resistance exercise training is smaller in trials where allocation and/or assessment was blinded, indicating that unblinded trials may overestimate the effect due to bias.

Be aware that the large effects often cited in unblinded studies may be inflated by participant expectations. However, even in rigorous, blinded trials, resistance exercise training still produces a significant, moderate reduction in depressive symptoms.

The same 12-week home-based physical activity intervention significantly improves psychological well-being, specifically vigor and fatigue levels, in early-stage breast cancer survivors, with positive trends in overall mood and body esteem.

If you are feeling fatigued after breast cancer treatment, starting a gentle, home-based exercise routine can actually help boost your energy and mood. Don't wait until you feel 'ready' or 'strong.' Start with just 10 minutes of walking. The act of moving, even in small doses, can help reduce fatigue and improve your sense of well-being over time. The support from a counselor can also help you stay motivated.