Browse the evidence

Traditional Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the first-line psychological treatment for obesity but does not necessarily produce successful weight loss, primarily functioning to reduce binge eating episodes and psychopathology rather than directly reducing body weight.

If you are using CBT for obesity, manage your expectations: the primary goal is to fix the psychological relationship with food (like binge eating) and improve mood, not necessarily to drop pounds quickly. Weight loss is a secondary outcome that may not happen for everyone, and success is measured by behavioral changes and reduced psychopathology first.

There is insufficient evidence to evaluate the effects of sedentary behavior interventions on inflammation or vascular function biomarkers.

Current research does not provide enough data to determine if reducing sitting time affects inflammation (like CRP) or vascular health (like arterial stiffness). More high-quality studies measuring these specific outcomes are needed.

Prolonged consumption of LCS beverages is advised against in children due to a lack of long-term safety data and potential adverse effects on taste preferences and metabolic health.

For children, water is the only recommended beverage. LCS beverages should not be a regular part of a child's diet because we don't know the long-term effects on their developing taste preferences and metabolism. The only exception is for children with diabetes who need to manage blood sugar spikes, and even then, it should be used sparingly and under medical guidance.

Mobile health wearable devices provide feasible but unreliable sleep monitoring compared to polysomnography (PSG), with significant limitations in detecting sleep stages and total sleep time accuracy.

Wearable sleep trackers are useful for observing general trends and improving sleep hygiene awareness, but they should not be used to diagnose sleep disorders or make medical decisions. For clinical accuracy, polysomnography remains the necessary standard.

Government-imposed confinement and mobility restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant decrease in Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) among pregnant women, primarily driven by increased anxiety, depression, and pain.

Confinement can significantly lower your quality of life during pregnancy, increasing anxiety and pain. To mitigate this, seek online support for childbirth preparation and maintain communication with healthcare providers to address fears of contagion.

Routine antibiotic prophylaxis following uncomplicated vaginal delivery does not significantly reduce the incidence of postpartum infections and may contribute to antimicrobial resistance without clear clinical benefit.

For uncomplicated vaginal deliveries, routine antibiotic prophylaxis is not recommended as it does not reduce infection rates and contributes to antibiotic resistance. Focus on hygiene and monitoring for signs of infection rather than preemptive medication.

GLP-1 agonists are likely unaffordable for universal healthcare systems due to high prevalence of OSA and high drug costs, potentially exacerbating healthcare inequities.

Be aware that GLP-1 agonists are expensive and may not be covered by public health insurance for OSA, creating a barrier to access for lower-income patients.

The global expansion of ultra-processed food markets is driven by political economy factors, including trade liberalization, the activities of transnational food and beverage corporations (TFBCs), and inadequate regulatory policies, rather than solely by consumer demand.

Support policies that regulate the marketing of UPFs, especially to children, and restrict the influence of transnational food corporations on food policy. Advocate for trade agreements that prioritize public health over corporate interests.

Evidence-informed training plans are pragmatic mixes of evidence and subjective experience, as it is impossible to base complex long-term plans fully on scientific evidence.

Don't wait for perfect scientific proof for every single exercise. Use evidence-based guidelines for the main components (like volume and intensity), but feel free to use your experience and preferences for the rest. The goal is a plan that works for you, not one that is scientifically perfect.

Lifestyle modifications, including Medical Nutritional Therapy (MNT), are essential for maintaining the effectiveness of pharmacological therapies in managing T2DM and CVD.

Manage your Type 2 Diabetes and heart health by working with a dietitian on Medical Nutritional Therapy (MNT). Focus on low glycemic index foods and reducing saturated fats. While this may not directly lower your risk of dying from heart disease, it significantly improves blood sugar control and overall health.

Early interactive human health coaching via a mobile application improves dietary adaptation and quality of life (specifically reducing eating restriction) in patients who underwent gastrectomy for gastric cancer compared to conventional face-to-face counseling.

If you have had stomach cancer surgery, using a dedicated health app with a real dietitian for 3 months after discharge may help you adjust to eating smaller, more frequent meals with less trial and error than standard hospital visits alone. Ensure you have a smartphone or a caregiver to help you log your food and weight daily.

Interactive nutrition education combined with behavior change techniques (e.g., goal setting) improves dietary intake and reduces nutritional risk in community-dwelling older adults.

For older adults looking to improve their diet, joining a group-based nutrition program that includes interactive education and goal setting is a promising strategy. While the evidence quality is low, the approach addresses common barriers like isolation and lack of knowledge. Look for community programs that emphasize interaction and practical behavior change techniques rather than just passive lectures.

Phenotype-prioritized treatment selection (SGLT2i for HF/CKD, GLP-1RA for ASCVD/Obesity) optimizes outcomes and reduces polypharmacy compared to single-disease guidelines.

Ask your doctor for a 'phenotype-first' approach. Instead of treating each condition separately, choose drugs that protect your heart, kidneys, and metabolism all at once. This can simplify your medication list and reduce side effects.

Personalization and gamification are crucial elements for motivation and engagement in running applications.

When choosing or designing a running app, look for features that allow you to set specific goals and customize notifications. Gamified elements like badges or social sharing can boost motivation if they align with your personal values. Avoid apps that offer only generic advice.

Individualized, multi-disciplinary nutrition counseling combined with lifestyle modification (diet and exercise) leads to significant weight loss and improved metabolic markers in prediabetic subjects, even when caloric intake increases due to behavioral flexibility.

For prediabetic individuals, rigid calorie counting often fails due to social pressures and lifestyle constraints. Instead, work with a clinical team to build self-management skills. Focus on problem-solving for specific triggers (like work dinners or alcohol) and gradually improve food choices. The study shows that even if your total calorie intake eventually rises, improved behavioral habits and increased physical activity can still drive significant weight loss and metabolic improvement.

Standardizing dietary interventions by objective diet quality (e.g., HEI-2020) while allowing variable diet types (cultural/personalized) improves adherence and external validity compared to fixed-type, one-size-fits-all interventions.

Focus on the quality of your diet (vegetables, fruits, legumes, nutrient density) rather than forcing yourself into a specific named diet (like Keto or strict Mediterranean) if it clashes with your culture or preferences. Use tools to measure your diet quality objectively. If you can maintain high quality while eating foods you culturally and personally enjoy, you will adhere better and see better long-term health outcomes.

Food Is Medicine (FIM) interventions, including produce prescriptions and medically tailored meals, show promise in improving diet quality and food security, but current evidence is insufficient to definitively establish their effectiveness on clinical outcomes or cost savings due to small sample sizes and lack of randomized controlled trials.

To improve health through diet, simply knowing what to eat is often not enough due to structural barriers like cost and access. Food Is Medicine programs attempt to bridge this gap by providing healthy food directly (via vouchers or meals) alongside healthcare. While these programs show promise in improving diet quality, they are not yet proven to significantly reduce clinical events or healthcare costs due to limited high-quality research. Patients should look for programs that integrate food provision with healthcare support, especially if they face food insecurity.

Strict exercise technique (minimizing involvement of ancillary muscle groups) is recommended over non-strict technique (using momentum or body sway) to ensure the target muscle receives the primary hypertrophic stimulus and adheres to recommended tempo and ROM.

Aim for strict form by minimizing body sway and momentum, especially if the assisting muscles are not being effectively trained (e.g., hip extensors during bicep curls). This ensures the target muscle handles the load and adheres to the recommended 2-8 second tempo and long muscle length ROM. However, if assisting muscles are also at long muscle lengths, some involvement may be acceptable.

A 6-week Low-Carbohydrate High-Fat (LCHF) nutrition education program improves subjective energy levels, satiety, and metabolic health markers in women with pre-existing non-communicable diseases from under-resourced communities.

If you have metabolic issues and live in a low-resource setting, a LCHF approach focusing on affordable whole foods (eggs, chicken, vegetables) can be sustainable and improve energy and satiety. Leverage social support (groups, messaging apps) to maintain adherence, as isolation is a major barrier. Expect some initial resistance from family or doctors, but visible health improvements often convert them to supporters.

A personalized, human-centered, telephone-linked dietary decision support system improves nutrition knowledge, attitudes, practices, and patient satisfaction compared to standard paper-based diet records in patients with type 2 diabetes.

If you have diabetes, using a digital tool that sends you personalized feedback and reminders about your daily food intake can help you learn more about nutrition and feel more satisfied with your care compared to just writing down what you eat on paper. This system works by making it easy to log food and get advice, even if you only have a basic phone.

Post-bariatric exercise training significantly improves physical function, measured by the 6-minute walk test (6MWD), adding approximately 29.67 meters compared to surgery alone.

If you have had bariatric surgery, adding exercise to your routine will help you improve your physical function and mobility compared to relying on surgery and diet alone. For the best results, wait at least one year after surgery to start a structured exercise program, and combine aerobic activities (like walking or cycling) with resistance training (weight lifting). Aim for 1.3 to 4 hours of exercise per week, spread over 2-3 sessions.

High levels of sedentary behavior are unfavorably associated with cognitive function, depression, physical activity levels, and physical health-related quality of life in adults.

To support your mental health and quality of life, avoid accumulating high levels of sedentary time. Break up long periods of sitting with movement, as this is associated with better cognitive function and lower depression risk.

Reducing or breaking up sedentary behavior may benefit body composition and markers of cardiometabolic risk.

If you have a desk job, try to break up long periods of sitting with short movement breaks. This pattern change may help improve body composition and cardiometabolic markers, even if you cannot eliminate sitting entirely.

Preoperative dietitian consultation improves postoperative weight loss outcomes in bariatric surgery patients.

See a dietitian before your surgery. This step helps you lose more weight afterward. It's a strong recommendation from experts.