Browse the evidence

Implementing national produce prescription programs for US adults with diabetes and food insecurity prevents cardiovascular disease events and generates quality-adjusted life years while being highly cost-effective.

For policymakers and healthcare systems, integrating produce prescriptions into care for diabetic, food-insecure patients is a financially sound investment that improves long-term health outcomes and reduces overall societal costs.

Current longitudinal evidence is insufficient to definitively prescribe fractional set counts for MJ exercises; therefore, practitioners should default to a 1:1 ratio and use individual expertise to adjust.

Stick to counting every set as one set for now. If you notice a specific muscle (like hamstrings or triceps) isn't growing despite heavy multi-joint work, consider adding single-joint exercises for that muscle. Do not try to mathematically fractionate every set in your program.

Strict dietary restraint and rigid monitoring during contest preparation promote binge-eating behavior through physiological hyperphagia and psychological perceived deprivation, creating a vicious cycle of disordered eating.

Avoid 'all-or-nothing' dieting. If you restrict food too strictly, your body and mind will eventually rebel with binge urges. Instead, use flexible dietary control: eat a variety of foods, pay attention to hunger, and compensate with healthier choices later if you eat something less optimal. This reduces the psychological pressure that leads to binges.

Whey protein supplementation significantly reduces fat mass only in 'regular physical activity practitioners' and not in 'sporadic' practitioners or 'athletes' in subgroup analyses.

If you train regularly (2-3 times per week), whey protein may help you lose fat. If you train sporadically or are a professional athlete, this specific fat loss benefit was not observed.

GLP-1-based therapies improve medication adherence in patients with resistant hypertension by reducing the burden of multiple daily antihypertensive drugs.

If you struggle to take multiple blood pressure pills every day, a GLP-1 medication might help. It can lower your blood pressure and help you lose weight, potentially allowing your doctor to reduce the number of other blood pressure medications you need. This simplification often makes it easier to stick with your treatment plan.

Community pharmacists can effectively support obesity management by providing weight management services (WMSs), including counseling on medications, lifestyle advice, and risk assessment, despite current underutilization of clinical metrics like BMI and waist circumference.

Pharmacists should proactively offer weight management counseling, including discussing risks of obesity and appropriate use of weight loss medications, even if they do not currently measure BMI or waist circumference. This service is valuable and supported by the paper's findings on pharmacist accessibility and patient trust.

Public health messaging should prioritize the word 'vegetables' before 'fruits' in the phrase 'vegetables and fruits' to improve nutrient density awareness and address the larger consumption gap for vegetables.

When creating or following health advice, look for messages that say 'vegetables and fruits' rather than 'fruits and vegetables.' This subtle shift highlights that vegetables are generally more nutrient-dense and that Americans are further from meeting vegetable recommendations than fruit recommendations. Prioritize adding vegetables to your diet first.

Sustained increases in accelerometer-measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) over 4 years are associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes in adults with type 2 diabetes, whereas short-term (1-year) changes are not.

To lower your cardiovascular disease risk, you need to maintain a consistent level of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (like brisk walking) for several years, not just a few months. Simply exercising for a year is not enough to see a reduction in risk. Focus on long-term adherence to an active lifestyle rather than short-term bursts.

Unintentional weight loss is strongly associated with a cluster of negative health behaviors, including higher smoking rates, increased alcohol consumption, lower physical activity, and lower dietary restraint, compared to intentional weight loss.

If you are losing weight without trying, do not assume it is a sign of health. This type of weight loss is often linked to smoking, drinking, and poor diet. Consult a doctor to rule out underlying conditions and address these behavioral risk factors, as unintentional loss may worsen existing health issues.

GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) are not standalone cures for obesity but function as 'training wheels' that facilitate the adoption of sustainable lifestyle changes, requiring active patient engagement in diet and exercise to prevent weight regain.

Do not view GLP-1 medication as a substitute for healthy habits. Use the appetite suppression it provides to practice making better food choices and increasing physical activity. The goal is to use the medication to learn how to maintain a healthy weight independently, so you can eventually taper off while keeping the lifestyle changes.

Proactive management of gastrointestinal side effects (nausea, constipation, diarrhea) through dietary adjustments (hydration, fiber, smaller meals) is critical for maintaining patient adherence to GLP-1 therapy.

If you experience nausea, constipation, or diarrhea, do not just push through it. Increase water intake, try ginger or peppermint tea, and eat smaller, more frequent meals. If constipation persists, increase dietary fiber and physical activity. These adjustments can help you stay on the medication without suffering.

A hybrid diet quality index derived from food liking surveys, which combines conceptual food grouping with empirical weighting via ridge regression, significantly predicts cardiometabolic risk factor scores in young adults, explaining more variance (6.5%) than theoretically or empirically derived indexes alone.

To improve your cardiometabolic health, focus on building a diet quality index based on what you actually like, rather than just what you think you should eat. This study suggests that combining your food preferences with health guidelines (a 'hybrid' approach) is a better predictor of heart and metabolic health than standard dietary guidelines alone. You can use a food liking survey to identify your preferences, then weight them by healthfulness (e.g., liking vegetables gets a high score, liking sugary drinks gets a low score) to create a personalized diet quality score. This approach leverages your natural preferences to sustain a healthier diet.

Increased snacking frequency during shelter-in-place orders is significantly associated with a higher percentage of calories derived from ultra-processed foods (UPF) and greater weight gain.

If you find yourself snacking more frequently, especially during stressful or confined periods, be aware that this behavior is strongly linked to choosing ultra-processed foods and gaining weight. To mitigate this, focus on managing snacking frequency and choosing minimally processed options for snacks, as this was the strongest behavioral predictor of positive health outcomes in this study.

In blended-care behavior change interventions, higher engagement with self-guided education (learn time) is positively associated with greater long-term weight loss, whereas a higher number of live coaching appointments is negatively associated with weight loss.

Focus on completing the educational modules and logging your data consistently rather than prioritizing the number of live sessions with a coach. The data suggests that spending time learning (learn time) drives better long-term results, while simply increasing the frequency of live appointments does not and may even correlate with poorer outcomes.

Using social and environmental motivators (climate, animal welfare, labor justice) instead of explicit health goals ('stealth nutrition') effectively drives students toward healthier, plant-based diets.

If you struggle to eat healthier for health reasons, try linking food choices to values you already hold, such as environmental sustainability or animal welfare. This 'stealth' approach can make healthy, plant-based choices feel like a personal value expression rather than a medical prescription.

Plant-based protein products (beverages, bars, powders) derived from diverse taxa (legumes, cereals, pseudocereals) are increasingly developed for sports nutrition, with soybean being the most frequently patented source, and these products are generally well-accepted by athletes when sensory qualities and health benefits are prioritized.

There is a wide variety of plant-based protein products available for athletes, with soybean being the most common source in patents. If you are considering switching to or trying plant-based options, look for products that prioritize taste and texture, as these factors significantly influence acceptance. You have many choices beyond just soy, including pea, rice, and blends, which are increasingly common.

Exercise prescriptions for clients taking anti-obesity medications (AOMs) should be reframed from caloric expenditure to focus on health, well-being, and functional targets (strength, aerobic fitness, body awareness) rather than enhancing weight loss.

Stop telling your client on Ozempic or Wegovy that they need to run 5 miles to 'earn' their food. The drug handles the weight loss. Instead, ask them how they feel. Do they have energy? Are they strong? Program for those feelings. If they feel weak, lift weights to improve strength. If they feel tired, do light cardio to boost energy. This builds trust and keeps them coming back, which is what matters for long-term health.

Financial incentives structured around achieving intermediate behavioral goals (goal-directed) are theoretically more sustainable for long-term weight management than incentives contingent solely on weight loss outcomes (outcome-based), as they build self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation.

If you are trying to lose weight, focus on rewarding yourself for doing the right things (going to the gym, tracking food) rather than just the scale number. This paper suggests that paying for the *behavior* helps you build the habits and confidence to keep the weight off long-term, whereas paying only for the result might not sustain the effort once the money stops.

Statewide public education campaigns using non-stigmatizing, mass-media advertising can significantly improve the public's ability to accurately identify overweight and obesity based on height and weight, and increase awareness of obesity as a personal health issue.

If you are a health educator or policymaker, use mass media campaigns that focus on factual, non-shaming information about weight status. Encourage people to check their own BMI and health risks objectively. This increases awareness and accuracy in identifying obesity, which is a necessary first step before expecting behavior change.

MSG consumption may increase food intake and palatability, leading to higher energy intake and potential weight gain, particularly in animal models.

MSG makes food taste better, which can lead to eating more. If you notice you eat larger portions when MSG is present, consider moderating your intake of processed foods that contain it.

Moderate protein intake (1.8 g/kg/day) is sufficient to blunt cravings during a caloric deficit, whereas higher protein (2.9 g/kg/day) does not offer superior craving control.

Stick to 1.8g/kg of protein. It manages cravings reasonably well. You don't need to go higher to stop cravings, but if you find yourself craving food, 1.8g is a good baseline.

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.

A comprehensive, multi-tiered well-being improvement strategy (WBIS) implemented alongside a Consumer-Driven Health Plan (CDHP) leads to statistically significant longitudinal improvements in individual well-being, reduced health care costs, lower obesity and smoking rates, and increased productivity.

If your organization is shifting to a high-deductible health plan, do not just change the insurance. Implement a comprehensive well-being strategy that includes health assessments, coaching, and diverse fitness options. This approach can simultaneously improve employee well-being, reduce health care costs, and boost productivity, countering the negative effects of cost-shifting.

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.