Diet & Weight Loss Archive

Growing evidence shows that intermittent fasting leads to significant weight loss. A recent study contradicted these findings, but the way this study was designed and implemented raises some questions about its conclusions.

Excess weight carries health risks. But how much is too much?

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The idea that someone can be "fat and fit" — that is, overweight but still healthy — has been around for some time. But don't be fooled.

"The latest science is quite clear that excess weight can carry considerable health risks, including a higher risk for heart attack and stroke," says Dr. Jorge Plutzky, director of preventive cardiology at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital. "While there is no one-size-fits-all number when it comes to a person's ideal weight, men should not ignore significant weight gain and the implications it has for their future health."

Put the focus on food quality and healthy lifestyle practices to attain a healthy weight.

Most people have been taught that losing weight is a matter of simple math. Cut calories — specifically 3,500 calories, and you'll lose a pound. But as it turns out, experts are learning that this decades-old strategy is actually pretty misguided.

"This idea of 'a calorie in and a calorie out' when it comes to weight loss is not only antiquated, it's just wrong," says Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity specialist and assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) medications are relatively safe and work for most men, but they aren’t right for every man. Here are six proven strategies that can help –– and offer added benefits on overall health and quality of life.

Studies of drugs, diets, and devices all come with their own unique set of challenges.

The best way to know if a new medical treatment truly works is with a randomized controlled trial — the "gold standard" of research studies, also known simply as a clinical trial. Volunteers are randomly assigned to receive either the new treatment or the comparison, which may be a placebo (an inactive therapy) or a treatment that's already available.

As the nation's top cause of death, cardiovascular disease has been at the leading edge of evidence generation, says Dr. Robert Yeh, director of the Smith Center for Outcomes Research in Cardiology at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "We probably have more evidence for cardiovascular treatments than for any other field of medicine," he says. Among the studies with the greatest impact were the clinical trials that heralded new therapies to treat heart attacks. These include clot-dissolving drugs in the 1980s, followed in the 1990s by artery-opening angioplasty procedures, which remain the standard of care today. Stents, the tiny mesh tubes used in these procedures, have also been extensively studied in clinical trials (see "Testing devices: Different dilemmas").

Ask the doctors

Q. I'm hoping to prevent urinary incontinence. Is there anything I can do?

A. Nearly half of all women experience some type of urinary incontinence during the course of their lives. It may not be possible to prevent all of these cases, which can be caused by pregnancy, childbirth, or hormonal shifts that occur around the time of menopause. Here are some strategies that may help to reduce your risk.

Many lifestyle factors can influence the development of atrial fibrillation, and doctors now better understand the importance of these factors in treating afib. Those who are at risk of developing afib can take action to improve their health, and in some cases they may be able to reduce their symptoms.

How maintaining a healthy weight and other lifestyle habits can help prevent this common heart rhythm disorder.

During a bout of atrial fibrillation, your heart may beat so rapidly, it may feel as though it's going to explode out of your chest. Commonly known as afib, this heart rhythm problem can leave you breathless and lightheaded—or cause no symptoms at all. About 9% of people ages 65 and older have afib, which raises the risk of stroke and other heart-related problems. But there are ways to lower your odds of developing afib—or to reduce its impact if you already have the condition.

Lessen your load

By far, the most important step you can take is to attain and stay at a healthy weight. "We have good evidence from multiple studies showing that people who are overweight have a higher risk of afib than people who are at a healthy weight," says Harvard professor of medicine Dr. Christine Albert, former director of the Center for Arrhythmia Prevention at Brigham and Women's Hospital. And the more you weigh, the higher your risk: people who are overweight have a 20% to 25% higher risk, whereas those who are obese (a body mass index, or BMI, of 30 or higher) have a 60% higher risk.

Want to improve heart health? New research based on blood samples from the original DASH diet shows the DASH diet and another diet high in fruits and veggies can lower measures of heart strain and heart muscle damage within eight weeks.

Prehabilitation aims to increase your strength and health before, not after, a medical procedure.

Rehabilitation can help get you up on your feet again after surgery or a physical setback. But some surgeons are increasingly turning to an innovative approach called prehabilitation in hopes of easing that recovery in the first place.

Prehabilitation, commonly called prehab, is an individualized medical program designed to help people — often those who are older or frail — better withstand and bounce back from an anticipated physically stressful event, such as surgery, says Dr. Julie K. Silver, an associate professor and associate chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School.