Browse the evidence

Higher staffing levels in weight management programs are associated with significantly higher patient retention rates.

When choosing a weight management program, consider the staffing levels. Programs with more staff per patient are more likely to help you stay in the program and achieve your goals.

During pandemic lockdown, individuals previously engaged in resistance training maintained participation rates (82.8%) but adapted their training location to home, shifted to bodyweight exercises, and reduced perceived effort, resulting in lower perceived effectiveness and enjoyment.

If you are used to training in a gym, do not stop training when you cannot access it. Shift to bodyweight exercises or home equipment, and accept that your perceived effort and enjoyment might drop temporarily. Focus on maintaining the habit of training 2-3 times per week rather than perfecting the routine or intensity. Your body will adapt, and you can gradually reintroduce complexity as access allows.

Therapeutic Patient Education (ETP) is the cornerstone of obesity management, prioritizing self-management, quality of life, and health status over simple weight loss.

Shift your focus from 'losing weight' to 'managing your health'. Work with a healthcare team to build skills in self-monitoring, stress management, and sustainable lifestyle changes. Your goal is to feel better and reduce health risks, not just to see a lower number on the scale. Recognize that stigma is a barrier, not a truth, and seek support that empowers you rather than shames you.

Initiating anti-obesity medications (AOMs) at the weight loss plateau (WLP) is more effective for achieving additional weight loss than waiting until significant weight regain occurs.

Do not wait for significant weight regain to seek help. If your weight stops dropping after surgery (plateau), discuss starting an anti-obesity medication immediately to maximize your results.

High-intensity behavioral weight-loss counseling delivered by primary-care physicians results in moderate but not clinically significant weight loss.

If you are overweight or obese, expect your primary-care doctor's high-intensity counseling to help you lose some weight, but do not expect it to be enough on its own to reach clinically significant goals (like >5% body weight loss). For better results, look for programs where a dietitian or health coach delivers the counseling, with your doctor monitoring your progress.

Dietitian-delivered care appears effective in producing weight loss regardless of the level of intervention intensity.

Consulting a dietitian can help you lose weight, even if you don't have frequent, high-intensity sessions. The provider's expertise is a key factor in success.

Adopting 'Planeterranea' nutritional pyramids based on local foods provides the same health benefits as the Mediterranean Diet while addressing cultural, economic, and accessibility barriers.

You do not need to move to the Mediterranean to eat like one. Identify local foods that match the nutritional profile of the Mediterranean Diet (healthy fats, high fiber, low sugar) and build your meals around them. Use local oils, nuts, grains, and vegetables to create a 'Planeterranea' diet that is sustainable and culturally appropriate.

Pandemic-related lifestyle disruption is bidirectional and associated with greater weight loss in individuals who had less healthy pre-pandemic behaviors, while those with healthy pre-pandemic behaviors showed minimal change.

If you had unhealthy habits before the pandemic, the disruption of routine might have actually helped you improve your diet and lose weight. This suggests that for some, breaking old routines can be an opportunity to adopt healthier ones, rather than a cause of decline.

Higher lifestyle disruption during the pandemic is associated with greater bidirectional weight variability, including both significant weight loss and weight gain, particularly in younger, female, and socio-economically deprived individuals.

Pandemic disruption affected everyone's weight variability, but the outcome depended on your starting point. If you had unhealthy habits, you likely improved. If you were already healthy, you likely stayed the same. Targeted support is needed for vulnerable groups who may experience negative outcomes.

Culturally tailoring evidence-based diabetes prevention programs (DPP) for Latino populations by integrating family support, culturally specific nutrition, and technology-mediated self-monitoring increases intervention acceptability and cultural congruence compared to standard non-adapted interventions.

For Latino patients in primary care, standard diabetes prevention programs should be adapted to include family members at key sessions (start, middle, end), provide culturally specific healthy meals (e.g., sopes, ceviche) rather than generic options, and use Spanish-language smartphone apps (MyFitnessPal) and FitBits for self-monitoring. This approach respects 'familismo' and avoids the negative stigma of 'dieting', thereby improving engagement and cultural fit.

Technology-assisted health coaching delivered by student volunteers in primary care is feasible and acceptable, with the number of completed coaching calls significantly correlated with greater weight loss at 6 months.

If you are in primary care and struggling with weight, ask about health coaching programs. This study shows that consistent telephone coaching with a dedicated coach (rather than just seeing your doctor) can lead to greater weight loss, especially if you complete more sessions. Look for programs that use self-monitoring tools like pedometers and food diaries.

Medical doctors' self-reported comfort levels and positive attitudes toward nutrition care are significantly correlated with their actual provision of nutrition counseling and referral rates.

For healthcare providers: Your confidence in discussing nutrition directly impacts whether you actually provide it. If you feel uncomfortable or unsure, you are less likely to counsel patients or refer them to specialists, even if you believe it is important. Building self-efficacy through training or simple referral protocols can bridge the gap between knowing nutrition is important and actually doing it.

Higher county-level primary care physician (PCP) supply is associated with lower adult obesity rates, with individuals in counties with the highest PCP supply being approximately 20% less likely to be obese than those in counties with the lowest supply.

If you live in an area with few primary care doctors, you may face higher obesity risks due to less access to preventive counseling and community health advocacy. While you cannot move, seeking out any available primary care contact for weight management advice is a critical step, as regular contact with a provider is linked to lower obesity rates.

COVID-19 lockdowns and associated lifestyle changes (reduced physical activity, increased screen time, comfort eating) led to significant weight gain and increased obesity prevalence in Saudi Arabia.

Be aware that external factors like lockdowns can significantly impact your weight by reducing activity and increasing stress-eating. Proactively manage your environment and stress levels to prevent weight gain.

Psychological traits, specifically emotional stability, influence the reliability and magnitude of work completed at velocity loss thresholds, with higher emotional stability associated with performing more repetitions across thresholds.

Your mental toughness and emotional stability affect how many reps you can grind out at slow speeds. If you are less emotionally stable, you might hit velocity thresholds with fewer reps than a more stable peer. Consider this when interpreting velocity data.

A culturally tailored multimedia intervention providing individualized MI and genetic risk scores (GRS) can induce positive behavioral changes in diet and physical activity among at-risk South Asian adults, although the intervention's effectiveness is limited by low user engagement and poor recall of risk information.

For South Asian individuals at risk of heart disease, receiving personalized risk information (including genetic risk) via a multimedia platform can motivate positive changes in diet and physical activity. However, to maximize effectiveness, the intervention should be simplified by removing complex website logins and delivering information directly via email or text messages. Users should be aware that simply knowing their risk score is not enough; active engagement with tailored health goals is necessary, but the frequency of messages should be balanced to avoid fatigue.

Patients with poorer baseline dietary quality (low HEI-C scores) are more likely to make substantive dietary improvements through counseling than those with already good baseline diets.

If you already eat a healthy diet, don't assume counseling is useless. The study shows that people with poorer diets improve the most, but those with good diets can still refine specific areas like sodium or saturated fat. The goal is continuous improvement, not just fixing 'bad' habits.

A machine learning model using Heterogeneous Mixture Learning Technology (HMLT) can predict 3-year body weight changes with accuracy comparable to multiple regression, while uniquely identifying subgroups where lifestyle factors have a profound impact on weight loss.

Use predictive modeling to identify which lifestyle factors (like breakfast skipping or walking speed) are most likely to impact your weight based on your age and BMI. Standard advice may not work for you; personalized simulation of lifestyle changes can improve motivation and effectiveness.

Diabetes screening should begin at age 35 for all adults, or age 19 for those with specific risk factors, utilizing FPG, HbA1c, or OGTT.

If you are 35 or older, get your blood sugar checked now, even if you feel fine. If you are younger than 35 but have risk factors like abdominal obesity, start screening at 19. Early detection prevents long-term damage.

Nutrient-based dietary guidelines (e.g., limiting fat or sugar) are less effective for public understanding and policy translation than food-based or processing-related terms (e.g., 'ultra-processed foods' or specific food examples).

When following dietary guidelines, look for recommendations that specify *which* foods to limit (like sugary drinks or ultra-processed snacks) rather than just abstract nutrients (like fat or sugar). This approach is easier to understand and less likely to be manipulated by food companies through reformulation. If a guideline uses nutrient-based terms, try to translate them into specific food choices you can identify on a label.

Extending the duration of initial diabetes diagnosis consultations (specifically >40 minutes) significantly improves patient recall of treatment topics and reduces anxiety regarding disease management compared to standard short consultations.

If you have been recently diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, do not accept a very short initial appointment. Ask for more time or a follow-up specifically dedicated to understanding your treatment. The paper shows that spending over 40 minutes at diagnosis, especially with a specialist, significantly improves your ability to remember and follow your treatment plan, reducing fear and improving outcomes. Do not let the doctor rush you; your understanding is the key to preventing complications.

Consuming hard-textured foods significantly reduces daily energy intake and slows eating rate compared to soft-textured foods, regardless of industrial processing level.

To reduce calorie intake without counting calories, choose foods with a harder texture (e.g., whole vegetables, chewy meats, nuts) over soft, processed alternatives (e.g., purees, soft breads, smoothies). This forces slower eating and increases satiety signals, naturally leading to eating less, even if the food is processed.

Weight-neutral health strategies (HAES) improve psychological well-being, body image, and intuitive eating without requiring weight loss, but lack long-term evidence for physical health outcomes compared to weight-loss strategies.

If you are tired of yo-yo dieting, a weight-neutral approach (HAES) focuses on how you feel and behave rather than the number on the scale. It emphasizes intuitive eating and enjoyable movement. This can significantly improve mental health and body image, though long-term physical health benefits are still being studied.

Overweight and obese primary care patients report a 63% willingness to participate in comprehensive, intensive behavioral weight loss programs (12-26 sessions/year), with willingness significantly higher among women, African Americans, and American Indians compared to non-Hispanic white men.

If you are overweight or obese, you are not alone in wanting to lose weight; most people in your position are willing to join a structured program. To succeed, look for programs that are affordable, convenient, and address your specific reasons for wanting to lose weight (like health or feeling better). Don't wait for a perfect program; seek out those that minimize logistical barriers like cost and travel time.