Browse the evidence

Adhering to the Dutch 'Wheel of Five' dietary guidelines, which prioritize vegetables, fruit, wholegrains, dairy, and fats while limiting high-impact animal products, provides approximately 85% of daily energy requirements and meets all essential nutrient Dietary Reference Values for most adults.

Fill 85% of your daily calories with the 'Wheel of Five' foods: vegetables, fruit, wholegrain bread/cereals/potatoes, dairy, and fats. Eat these daily in the specified serving sizes (e.g., 250g veggies, 200g fruit). Limit 'outside the wheel' foods like processed meat, sugary drinks, and high-sugar snacks to occasional use. This pattern meets your nutrient needs without requiring expensive supplements or exotic foods.

Regular physical activity increases life expectancy by approximately 2 to 4 years compared to inactivity, with aerobic endurance athletes potentially gaining up to 8 years.

To maximize your lifespan, incorporate regular physical activity into your daily routine. You do not need to be an elite athlete; moderate leisure-time activity is highly effective. Aim for consistency, as this habit alone can add 2-4 years to your life expectancy by reducing risks of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Resistance training improves insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake in individuals at risk for Type 2 Diabetes, acting synergistically with the reduction of low-grade systemic inflammation to prevent disease progression.

If you are at risk for Type 2 Diabetes, resistance training is a critical tool. It directly improves your muscles' ability to take up glucose and reduces the chronic inflammation that drives insulin resistance. Combine it with other healthy habits for the best protection against diabetes.

Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MD) prevents obesity and reduces cardiometabolic risk in children and adults, whereas adoption of Western diets (high in saturated fats, refined carbs, and processed meats) accelerates obesity epidemics.

Adopt a Mediterranean-style dietary pattern: prioritize vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and olive oil; consume fish and poultry moderately; and minimize red meat, sweets, and processed foods. This approach is cost-effective, transferable to non-Mediterranean regions by substituting local equivalents, and is the most effective dietary strategy for preventing obesity and cardiometabolic disease in both children and adults.

Adherence to lifestyle counseling aims (specific dietary changes and physical activity targets) is associated with a significantly lower proportion of LGA newborns and a tendency toward lower GDM incidence compared to usual care.

For pregnant women who can strictly adhere to lifestyle counseling (improving diet and increasing physical activity), the risk of having a large baby is significantly reduced. This suggests that the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions depends heavily on patient adherence.

The 45° hip extension exercise selectively activates the biceps femoris long head (BFLongHead) relative to medial hamstring muscles, making it superior for targeted BFLongHead rehabilitation.

If your goal is to specifically strengthen the biceps femoris long head (the most commonly injured hamstring muscle), prioritize hip-extension based exercises like the 45° hip extension over knee-dominant exercises like the Nordic hamstring curl or leg curl. The Nordic curl is excellent for overall hamstring health but targets the semitendinosus more heavily.

A modest weight loss of 5–15% significantly reduces obesity-related health risks and is a realistic, effective treatment goal.

Stop aiming for perfection. Your primary goal should be to lose just 5-15% of your body weight. This modest reduction is scientifically proven to significantly lower your risk for diabetes, heart disease, and other obesity-related conditions. Focus on this achievable target rather than an arbitrary 'ideal' weight.

High-protein diets improve weight loss maintenance by increasing satiety and thermogenesis compared to carbohydrates and fats.

To keep weight off, prioritize protein. Aim for up to 25% of your calories from protein sources. This helps you feel fuller longer and boosts your metabolism slightly compared to carbs or fats. Combine this with low fat and high fiber for best results.

Maintaining or increasing dietary protein intake (specifically 1.0 g/kg body weight) during periods of muscle disuse (bed rest or immobilization) attenuates muscle mass loss and improves nitrogen balance compared to standard or low-protein diets.

If you are recovering from an injury or illness that requires you to rest or immobilize a body part, do not skip protein. Even if your appetite is low, prioritize consuming about 1.0 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight daily. This helps maintain muscle mass and nitrogen balance better than just eating enough calories. If you struggle to eat enough food, consider protein supplements or essential amino acid supplements to support muscle preservation.

For a fixed total volume of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), increasing the proportion of vigorous physical activity (VPA) to total MVPA is associated with significantly lower all-cause mortality.

If you currently do 150 minutes of moderate exercise (like brisk walking) per week, try replacing half of that time with vigorous exercise (like running or fast cycling) while keeping the total time at 150 minutes. This shift is associated with a 17% lower risk of death compared to doing only moderate exercise, according to this large study.

Regular moderate-intensity physical activity improves sleep quality and reduces sleep disorders (e.g., insomnia) in adults, with benefits observed across age groups including children and the elderly.

Aim for 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, three times a week. This is the most effective dose for improving sleep quality and managing insomnia. If you are short on time, even 10 minutes of light morning exercise can provide benefits. Avoid high-intensity exercise within 3 hours of bedtime, as it may disrupt sleep.

A modular multimodal exercise program (aerobic, resistance, flexibility) tailored to bone metastasis location preserves self-reported physical function and lower body muscle strength in prostate cancer patients with bone metastases without increasing skeletal complications or bone pain.

If you have prostate cancer that has spread to your bones, you can still exercise safely. The key is to work with a professional who can tailor your routine to avoid putting direct stress on your weak bones. Focus on moderate resistance training (lifting weights you can handle 10-12 times) and low-impact cardio like cycling or walking. This approach helps maintain your strength and daily function without increasing your risk of fractures or pain.

Intensive progressive strength training induces skeletal muscle hypertrophy (increased cross-sectional area) and reduces intramuscular fat proportion in elderly women (76-78 years old), whereas endurance training does not induce hypertrophy and may reduce lean tissue cross-sectional area.

If you are a woman in your late 70s, you can still build muscle and reduce fat inside your muscles by lifting weights twice a week. Start with lighter weights and gradually increase the weight as you get stronger. Do not rely solely on walking or cardio for muscle growth, as it may not prevent muscle loss.

Obese individuals should consume at least 1 g/kg ideal body weight of protein per day to support muscle mass, with higher amounts recommended for high-risk groups.

Eat at least 1 gram of protein per kilogram of your ideal body weight every day. If you are older, sick, or losing weight rapidly, you may need even more. Combine this with exercise for best results.

A generic, prolonged resistance-type exercise training program yields equivalent relative gains in muscle mass, strength, and functional capacity in elderly men and women, refuting the need for gender-specific programming.

If you are an elderly man or woman, you can follow the same resistance training program to build muscle and strength. Focus on progressive overload (increasing weight/reps over time) three times a week. You do not need a 'women's specific' program to see equal relative benefits compared to men.

Adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern reduces the risk of developing MASLD by 23% compared to a Western dietary pattern.

Adopting a Mediterranean diet lowers your risk of MASLD by 23% compared to a Western diet. Focus on healthy fats, vegetables, and whole grains.

Obesity and post-diagnosis weight gain in breast cancer patients are associated with significantly increased risks of disease recurrence and mortality.

Maintaining a healthy weight or losing weight after a breast cancer diagnosis is clinically important. Evidence shows that being overweight or gaining weight after diagnosis increases the risk of the cancer returning and reduces survival. While specific weight loss protocols for breast cancer are still being finalized, managing weight through diet and activity is recommended to potentially improve outcomes.

Regular exercise training improves heat tolerance and glucose control in individuals with type 2 diabetes, potentially mitigating the reduced heat tolerance associated with the disease.

If you have type 2 diabetes, regular exercise can help your body handle heat better and improve your blood sugar control. Start with moderate exercise and gradually increase your intensity. This will not only improve your metabolic health but also help you tolerate heat stress better, reducing the risk of heat-related illnesses.

Increasing dietary protein intake to 1.0–1.2 g/kg/day in elderly individuals maintains nitrogen balance and calcium metabolism without adverse renal effects, serving as a safe baseline compromise until higher-dose long-term trials are completed.

If you are over 65, aim for 1.0 to 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of your body weight each day. This amount is safe for your kidneys and helps maintain muscle and bone health. This is a safe starting point, though some studies suggest higher amounts (up to 1.8 g/kg) might be better for building muscle, so consult your doctor if you have kidney issues.

Elderly individuals require higher protein intakes (1.6–1.8 g/kg/day) to achieve muscle anabolism due to an impaired anabolic response to mixed meals and reduced insulin sensitivity compared to younger adults.

To build or maintain muscle, elderly individuals may need 1.6 to 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily. This is higher than the standard recommendation because aging reduces the body's sensitivity to protein's muscle-building signals. Combining this intake with exercise can help restore the body's natural anabolic response.

Adhering to the Portfolio Dietary Pattern (combining nuts, plant protein, viscous fiber, and plant sterols) significantly reduces LDL cholesterol by approximately 17% compared to a standard National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Step II diet.

To lower your LDL cholesterol significantly, adopt the Portfolio Dietary Pattern. This involves eating specific amounts of four plant-based food groups daily: nuts (42g), plant protein like soy or beans (50g), viscous fiber from oats or barley (20g), and plant sterols (2g). This combination, when used alongside a standard low-saturated-fat diet, has been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol by approximately 17% in clinical trials involving individuals with high cholesterol.

High-impact exercises (e.g., jumping, running) and high-intensity resistance training are superior to low-impact or non-weight-bearing activities (e.g., cycling, swimming) for increasing or maintaining bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women.

To build bone density, you must challenge your skeleton with impact. If you are postmenopausal, prioritize activities like brisk walking, running, or jumping over swimming or cycling. Combine this with resistance training at 70-90% of your one-rep max, performed 2-4 times a week. Always consult a specialist to ensure your specific bone health status allows for high-impact loading, and focus on strengthening your back muscles to protect your spine.

Power training (high-velocity resistance training) is superior to traditional strength training for maintaining lumbar spine BMD in postmenopausal women.

If you do resistance training, don't just lift slowly. Incorporate 'power' moves where you lift the weight quickly (but with control) using heavy weights (70-90% of your max) for few reps (around 6). Do this 4 times a week. This specific type of training has been shown to better maintain bone density in the spine than slow, traditional weightlifting.

Speed endurance training (SET) improves intermittent recovery performance (Yo-Yo IR-2) significantly more than sprint training (ST), primarily through enhanced lactate clearance and potassium handling rather than just increased muscle mass or fiber type changes.

If your goal is to improve your ability to recover between high-intensity bursts (like in team sports), prioritize speed endurance intervals (e.g., 30-second runs at >130% VO2max) over pure sprints. This type of training specifically enhances your body's ability to clear lactate and manage ions during repeated efforts, leading to much larger gains in intermittent recovery capacity.