Browse the evidence

Digital weight-loss services (DWLSs) mitigate obesity care access barriers by providing asynchronous multidisciplinary care, reducing psychological stigma, and offering scheduling flexibility, thereby enabling patients who failed face-to-face general practitioner (GP) care to access comprehensive treatment.

If you have struggled to lose weight due to shame, anxiety, or lack of time for doctor visits, a digital weight-loss service may offer a more accessible and less stigmatizing path to care than traditional face-to-face general practice. Look for services that offer multidisciplinary support (dietitians, coaches) alongside medication, rather than just medication dispensing.

Integrating telephone-delivered health coaching with standard multidisciplinary care for severe obesity yields non-inferior weight loss and glycemic improvements compared to multidisciplinary care alone, while significantly improving patient acceptability and access.

If you have severe obesity and struggle to attend frequent specialist appointments, adding a structured telephone coaching program to your standard care can help you stay on track. While it may not guarantee more weight loss than standard care alone, it significantly improves your ability to adhere to the diet and psychological support, and is highly accepted by patients.

Shifting focus from weight loss to body recomposition (muscle gain/fat loss) and behavioral goals improves long-term sustainability and psychological outcomes in PCOS.

Do not obsess over the scale. In PCOS, health benefits like better insulin sensitivity and mood come from healthy habits, not just weight loss. Focus on building muscle and moving regularly. This approach is more sustainable and avoids the psychological harm of weight cycling.

Post-intervention weight regain occurs after a workplace weight-loss program, with participants regaining approximately half of their initial weight loss within 3-6 months if contact frequency is reduced.

Plan for maintenance from day one. After your initial weight loss program ends, schedule regular check-ins (monthly or quarterly) with a coach or support group to prevent regaining the weight. Do not assume the weight will stay off without continued effort.

While high-energy breakfast increases total glucose and insulin exposure, it does not significantly alter 24-hour mean glucose or glycaemic variability as measured by continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) compared to low-energy breakfast.

Don't worry if your 24-hour glucose monitor looks the same regardless of when you eat your biggest meal. However, be aware that a large breakfast causes higher spikes and deeper dips in glucose throughout the day, which may have long-term vascular implications even if the average looks normal.

Vigorous federal, state, and community financial assistance programs during the COVID-19 pandemic significantly improved food security and the healthfulness of food choices for a majority of US adults, particularly among lower-income and minority demographics.

If you are facing food insecurity or struggling to eat healthily during a crisis, prioritize accessing available government assistance programs (like SNAP, emergency food benefits, or community aid). These programs are designed to remove the financial and access barriers that prevent healthy eating, and data shows they can successfully improve both food security and diet quality for vulnerable populations.

Competitive-level resistance-trained athletes are significantly less likely to alter their training load or volume due to menstrual cycle symptoms compared to recreational athletes.

If you are a competitive strength athlete, you are statistically less likely to skip or reduce training due to menstrual symptoms than a recreational lifter. This is likely due to competitive drive. However, be aware that 69.5% of all participants still altered their programs, so monitor your fatigue and load to ensure you are not compromising long-term recovery or health.

Increased physical activity during GLP-1 RA therapy may help attenuate the medication-associated increase in resting heart rate, though this effect was not statistically significant in this study.

If you are experiencing an increased heart rate on GLP-1 medication, try to incorporate more physical activity. This study suggests that higher activity levels might help blunt this increase, although more research is needed to confirm this. Aim for any amount of movement, as even small increases (median split was <10 min/day) showed a trend toward benefit.

Pregnant women face significant modifiable barriers to physical activity, primarily intrapersonal factors (time constraints, fatigue, lack of motivation) and interpersonal factors (lack of healthcare provider advice), which can be addressed through targeted education and counseling.

Pregnant women in resource-limited settings should be counseled by healthcare providers on the safety and benefits of physical activity, specifically highlighting that walking and household chores count as exercise. Addressing fatigue through light activity and providing clear guidelines can overcome common barriers like lack of time and motivation.

Health and well-being coaching (HWC) serves as an effective adjuvant intervention to GLP-1 receptor agonists by improving medication adherence and promoting sustainable lifestyle changes, thereby mitigating the high rates of weight regain and discontinuation associated with GLP-1 monotherapy.

If you are using a GLP-1 medication like Ozempic or Wegovy, do not rely on it alone. Engage a health coach to help you build sustainable habits around diet and exercise. This support is crucial for sticking with the medication, managing side effects, and ensuring you keep the weight off long-term, especially if you plan to stop the drug eventually.

Insurer-based telephonic health coaching achieves modest weight loss (mean -2.1% to -5.9%) in adults with obesity, but significant weight loss requires completing at least 6 coaching sessions.

If you join a health coaching program, aim to complete at least 6 sessions. The study shows that stopping before 6 sessions yields no significant weight loss benefit, whereas completing 6+ sessions leads to modest but significant weight loss (approx. 3.5%).

Fiber and Probiotic supplementation can improve bowel regularity and mitigate gastrointestinal side effects (constipation, diarrhea) associated with GLP-1RA treatment.

If you experience constipation or diarrhea from GLP-1RA medication, try taking more than 10 grams of fiber daily and a probiotic supplement. This can help regulate your bowel movements.

Proactive, personalized lifestyle coaching significantly increases patient engagement (messaging frequency and app usage) in semaglutide-supported digital obesity programs, but does not significantly improve short-term (16-week) weight loss compared to reactive, standardized coaching.

If you are using semaglutide with a digital coaching program, expect that a proactive coaching style will make you feel more supported and engaged (more messages, more app opens). However, do not assume this increased engagement will automatically lead to more weight loss in the first 4 months. The medication and basic lifestyle changes drive the weight loss, while the coaching style drives the feeling of support. Stick to the program regardless of engagement levels, as the weight loss outcomes are similar between high and low engagement groups in the short term.

A salutogenic, peer-group-based healthy eating program for type 2 diabetes improves glycemic control and psychosocial well-being by fostering active learning, social belonging, and stress management rather than strict dietary prescription.

For someone with Type 2 Diabetes, try joining a supportive peer group focused on holistic health rather than just strict dieting. Focus on building social connections, managing stress, and experimenting with small, sustainable food changes (like swapping ingredients) instead of extreme restrictions. Use tools like glucose monitoring to get feedback on how these small changes affect your body, and involve your partner for support.

Low-carbohydrate, high-fat (LCHF) nutrition education programs can be successfully implemented in under-resourced South African communities, provided interventions address socioeconomic barriers, family dynamics, and safety concerns.

If you are designing a nutrition program for low-income communities, do not assume LCHF is too expensive; instead, offer tiered food options. Engage the whole family, especially men who control budgets, in the education process. Address safety concerns by offering home-based exercises and secure meeting spaces. Recognize that participants may fear high fat intake due to medical advice; provide clear education on metabolic benefits.

Obesity significantly impairs work productivity and daily activities, with over 25% of work time impaired due to obesity status, and this impairment is greater in patients with obesity-related complications.

If you feel like obesity is affecting your work or daily activities, it is likely having a measurable impact. This impairment is a recognized part of the disease burden. Effective treatment of obesity may help reduce this impairment and improve your quality of life and productivity.

Digital weight-loss services utilizing GLP-1 receptor agonists exhibit a prescribing error rate of 4.4%, with the most prevalent errors being insufficient safety counseling (49.15%) and inadequate investigation of contraindications (30.29%).

If you are using a digital service for GLP-1 RAs, expect a thorough intake process. The most common errors are not about the drug dose, but about skipping safety checks. Ensure you answer all health questions accurately, especially regarding family history and other medications, as this protects you from serious side effects. The 4.4% error rate in this large study is relatively low, indicating that digital services can be safe when they enforce multidisciplinary oversight.

Digital dietary interventions specifically lead to greater reductions in body weight, BMI, and fasting blood glucose compared to nondigital dietary interventions.

If you are focusing on diet, using a digital tool (app, wearable) may yield better results for weight loss and blood sugar control than traditional methods like pamphlets or face-to-face counseling alone.

Digital physical activity interventions specifically lead to greater reductions in total cholesterol compared to nondigital physical activity interventions.

If you are focusing on exercise, using a digital tool (app, wearable) may yield better results for cholesterol control than traditional exercise programs alone.

Combined digital interventions (dietary, physical activity, and smoking cessation) significantly decrease BMI compared to nondigital combined interventions.

If you are making multiple lifestyle changes (diet, exercise, quitting smoking), using a digital tool may yield better results for BMI reduction than traditional methods alone.

Semaglutide and tirzepatide reduce 'food noise' (constant, pervasive thoughts about food), thereby lowering the mental burden and executive load required to maintain dietary behavior change.

If you feel constantly distracted by thoughts of food ('food noise') despite trying to diet, this is a recognized barrier, not just a lack of willpower. Medications like semaglutide and tirzepatide may reduce this mental burden, making it easier to make deliberate food choices without constant compulsive thinking. This mental relief is often reported as improving quality of life independently of the scale weight.

Semaglutide and tirzepatide increase self-trust and executive functioning regarding food choices by reducing physiological hunger and emotional compulsion, allowing for more deliberate dietary decisions.

If you know what to eat but struggle to follow through due to hunger, cravings, or emotional eating, these medications may help by reducing the physiological drive and emotional compulsion. This can restore your ability to trust yourself and make deliberate, planned food choices rather than reactive ones.

A natural spoken language application (COCO) provides valid estimates of total energy intake (TEI) comparable to the gold-standard 24-hour dietary recall method.

To accurately track your calorie intake without the hassle of manual entry, try using a voice-activated nutrition app. This study shows that speaking your meals into an app provides energy estimates just as accurate as professional dietary recalls, making it a viable tool for weight management if you struggle with traditional logging methods.

Multidisciplinary care and community involvement improve accountability and outcome durability for prostate cancer patients undergoing ADT.

To maintain the benefits of diet and exercise during ADT, consider engaging with multidisciplinary care teams or community support groups. These resources can help you stay accountable and sustain your progress over time.