Weight loss can be highly dependent on each individual’s habits and relationship with food.

With this in mind, new research from City St. George’s, University of London, found that categorizing people into “eating profiles” can help people achieve lasting results.

The study was based on an online quiz developed by the university, which led participants through 17 questions asking about their behavioral habits regarding emotional eating, dieting and exercise.

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Quiz-takers were grouped into four profiles, or phenotypes, based on their responses: Purple Lavender, Red Chili, Yellow Saffron and Green Sage.

The quiz then offered tailored advice for building a healthier long-term lifestyle, including how to stick to personal goals, improve dietary choices and incorporate more movement.

The U.K. study participants were enrolled in a 12-week digital weight-loss program, in addition to seven weeks of tailored advice.

Those who took the quiz and identified with a profile showed “significant” engagement in the 12-week program compared to those who did not. They were also more likely to stick to it, according to the university.

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Quiz-takers also recorded more meals, communicated with health coaches more frequently and lost more weight on average.

“Phenotype-tailored weekly advice was associated with substantially higher engagement in a real-world digital program, although short-term weight differences were not statistically significant,” the authors concluded in the study, which was published in JMIR Formative Research.

Although the study was not randomized, followed participants for only a short time and relied on self-reported weight, the results suggest that adjusting digital weight-loss programs based on how people typically eat and behave could help more users stick with them, the researchers said.

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Larger, randomized trials with longer follow-ups are “warranted to determine whether increased engagement translates into clinically meaningful weight loss,” they added.

Fox News Digital reached out to the study authors for comment.

Breaking down the 4 eating profiles

According to the researchers, “Red Chili” is characterized by “high maladaptive and hedonic eating, low self-regulation and high psychological avoidance.”

This means Red Chili members may feel their eating is out of control, use food to cope with negative emotions, feel guilty about their eating habits and tend to ignore problems. This group also tends to follow restrictive diets, but then overeats when it doesn’t pan out.

“Yellow Saffron” is based on “high hedonic eating and reward reactivity and low maladaptive eating.”

These individuals may find it difficult to resist overeating, choose foods based on taste rather than health benefits, and frequently crave foods high in calories, fat and sugar.

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“Purple Lavender” represented “low self-regulation and high psychological avoidance, as well as low maladaptive and hedonic eating.”

This group tends to set goals and pursue them temporarily, but may give up upon confronting an obstacle. Purple Lavenders may lose enthusiasm after starting to make changes and find it difficult to continue, as well as ignore problems and challenges.

“Green Sage” is characterized in the quiz as “low maladaptive and hedonic eating, high self-regulation and low psychological avoidance.”

“There is no general way of eating that suits each person, because behavior and personality play such a role.”

These individuals often need clear guidance in making positive lifestyle changes, yet put off working toward goals when they lack motivation.

People in Green Sage may tend to not do the recommended amount of physical activity for their health or eat the recommended amount of vegetables for their diet, even if they often cook at home.

Experts weigh in

Los Angeles-based registered dietitian-nutritionist Ilana Muhlstein praised the “really intuitive” quiz.

“It really hits on the emotional and behavioral side of weight loss that people struggle with the most,” the California-based expert told Fox News Digital.

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“It did an amazing job once it identified your eating type, giving you mindset shifts and descriptors on what to work on,” she went on. “It’s no surprise to me that it made a significant difference in the motivation and adherence to the weight-loss plan early on.”

As the results found no significant difference at the seven-week mark, Muhlstein suggested that this means the researchers “have to work on better follow-up measures” to help people stay more consistent.

Certified holistic nutritionist Robin DeCicco added that it “makes sense” to acknowledge habits and behaviors around food to promote weight loss and health goals.

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“Health is an individualized topic. There is no general way of eating that suits each person, because behavior and personality play such a role,” the New York expert told Fox News Digital. 

“Following a generic diet of what to eat and what to avoid doesn’t result in any sort of meaningful change unless personality types, behaviors and habits are addressed.”

The new federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest simply limiting alcohol intake for better health.

The shifted guidance challenges previous standards that listed moderate drinking limits — one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men.

A standard drink is about 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of liquor, according to experts.

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Heavy drinking is defined as four or more drinks per day for women and five or more drinks per day for men, per the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

Drinking this amount of alcohol within two hours is typically considered binge-drinking, which causes more than half of alcohol-related deaths in the U.S.

“It increases the risk of falls, burns, car crashes, memory blackouts, medication interactions, assaults, drownings and overdose deaths,” the group cautions on its website.

Many patients may believe their heavy drinking is not a concern because they can “hold their liquor,” but having a high alcohol tolerance is actually more of a reason to worry, the NIAAA mentioned.

Heavy drinking is defined as four or more drinks per day for women and five or more drinks per day for men.

“People with this trait tend to drink more and thus have an increased risk of alcohol-related problems,” the Institute stated. 

“Patients who drink within the limits of the Dietary Guidelines, too, may be unaware that even if they don’t feel a ‘buzz,’ driving can be impaired.”

‘The less you drink, the better’

Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel said he agrees with the shifting guidelines because any set standard sends an “unintentional message that some amount of alcohol is safe.”

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“Setting an arbitrary number doesn’t mean much, especially since people tend not to follow it anyway,” he told Fox News Digital. 

“Not only that, but since alcohol is addictive, what starts out as one drink quickly becomes two … it is a social lubricant and there is a positive side, but it is also a toxin.”

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Siegel suggested that there should be further guidelines surrounding the risks alcohol poses for the liver and heart, in addition to the dangers of drinking while driving.

“The less you drink, the better,” he said. “Alcohol impairs judgment, may easily be mixed with other harmful drugs like cannabis, [and can] lead to severe and fatal car accidents.”

Isaac Dapkins, M.D., chief medical officer and designated institutional official for the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone, noted the importance of limiting alcohol.

“No one should start drinking — or keep drinking — because they think it’s good for them.”

While men and women differ depending on age, body size and other environmental factors, women’s bodies can metabolize less alcohol than men, the doctor told Fox News Digital. 

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In a separate interview with Fox News Digital, Dr. Mark Hyman, co-founder of Function Health in California, highlighted how women are at an increased risk of developing certain cancers due to hormonal shifts.

Meanwhile, men may be more likely to binge-drink, the doctor noted, as just one heavy drinking episode could increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. 

The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) Consensus Report, which accompanied the new Dietary Guidelines, says that men and women who drink in moderation may have a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease and a lower risk of all-cause mortality.

Hyman, however, disagrees with this. “There are no cardiovascular health benefits to drinking alcohol,” he said. “These assertions were based primarily on observational research, with a lot of confounding factors.”

The doctor added, “Less [alcohol] is better, and abstinence is best. No one should start drinking — or keep drinking — because they think it’s good for them.”

Know your risk

Dapkins recommends that individuals see their primary care doctor to discuss their personal risk.

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“There is no longer a ‘one size fits all’ status for most conditions,” he said. “There is so much new information discovered about how to characterize an individual’s risk based on family history, behaviors and current medical conditions.”

For anyone who has a personal history of tobacco use — or a family history of breast cancer, atrial fibrillation or substance abuse — Dapkins’ advice is to avoid alcohol.

“There is a significant association between alcohol intake and atrial fibrillation (or A. Fib.), high blood pressure, and breast, mouth and throat cancers,” he cautioned. “A. Fib. can cause a stroke and is directly associated with alcohol intake.”

For those with no personal or family history, the concern would be less, according to Dapkins. “If you choose to drink moderately, your doctor may be able to detect health conditions early to reduce your risk,” he went on. “The best option is to have a trusted clinician with whom you maintain a long relationship.”

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Amanda Berger, Ph.D., senior vice president for science and research at the Distilled Spirits Council in Washington, D.C., noted that for most adults, research shows “moderate alcohol consumption can be part of an enjoyable adult lifestyle and carries little to no risk.”  

“However, there are some individuals who should avoid alcohol all together,” she said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “We recommend that people talk to their health providers to help determine what is right for them, based on personal risk factors.”

Adults who consider themselves “night owls” tend to score lower in cardiovascular health assessments and face a higher risk of heart attack or stroke.

That’s according to a new study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association, which examined how a person’s chronotype — their natural tendency to be active in the morning or evening — is linked to overall heart health.

The researchers looked at 14 years of UK Biobank data for around 300,000 adults averaging 57 years old, according to a press release for the study.

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Around 8% of the participants described themselves as “definitely evening people,” which means they stayed up very late. Another 24% said they were “definitely morning people,” as they tended to wake up earlier and go to bed earlier.

The largest “intermediate” group, which included 67% of participants, said they were unsure or in neither group.

Each person’s heart health was determined using the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8 score.

“Life’s Essential 8 is a comprehensive assessment that includes activity levels, diet, blood pressure, cholesterol, use of nicotine, sleep patterns, weight management and blood sugar,” shared Dr. Bradley Serwer, an interventional cardiologist and chief medical officer at VitalSolution, an Ingenovis Health company.

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The researchers also looked at incidence of heart attack or stroke over the follow-up period.

They determined that people who were more active in the evening (“night owls”) had a 79% higher risk of poor cardiovascular health compared to the intermediate group, and a 16% higher risk of heart attack or stroke, the release stated.

People who identified as being more active in the morning had slightly better heart health scores. The link was more pronounced in women than men.

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“‘Evening people’ often experience circadian misalignment, meaning their internal body clock may not match the natural day-to-night light cycle or their typical daily schedules,” said lead study author Sina Kianersi, Ph.D., a research fellow in the division of sleep and circadian disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, both in Boston, in the release.

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“Evening people may be more likely to have behaviors that can affect cardiovascular health, such as poorer diet quality, smoking, and inadequate or irregular sleep.”

Serwer, who was not involved in the study, noted that lifestyle habits played a significant role in these findings.

“Cardiovascular disease has multiple contributing causes,” the Maryland-based cardiologist told Fox News Digital. “Sleep is just one variable — and the importance of high-quality, restorative sleep should not be undervalued.”

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The findings could help doctors tailor lifestyle and medical interventions to help prevent cardiovascular events, the researchers noted.

The study did have some limitations, chiefly that it does not prove that staying up late causes heart problems, but only establishes an association.

Also, the study relied on people reporting their own schedules, habits and health, which could be skewed.

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Finally, the people included in the UK Biobank are primarily White and tend to have better health than the general population, the researchers noted, which means the results may not be widely generalized.

Serwer added, “While quality sleep is important, further studies are required to show exactly what sort of impact sleep alone has on cardiovascular health.”