Health
Simple weight-loss quiz may pinpoint why some diets fail — and how to boost success
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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 university questionnaire takes behavioral habits into consideration before assigning an eating profile. (iStock)
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.
Quiz-takers were grouped into four profiles, or phenotypes, based on their responses: Purple Lavender, Red Chili, Yellow Saffron and Green Sage. (iStock)
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.
Those assigned to an eating profile were more engaged in losing weight. (iStock)
“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.”
Effective weight loss begins with identifying habits and behaviors, experts say. (iStock)
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.”
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The latest COVID-19 vaccine (2024-2025) has been linked to fewer serious heart-related events among U.S. veterans.
New research confirmed a small reduction in COVID-related cardiovascular events, or COVID-19-associated MACE, due to the vaccine.
MACE (major adverse cardiovascular events) is a composite measure of serious heart-related outcomes. It typically includes cardiovascular death, heart attack and stroke, and may also include hospitalization for heart failure.
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Using health records from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the researchers compared two groups of veterans — one that received the COVID and flu vaccine on the same day (nearly 350,000 people) and another group that received only the flu vaccine (nearly 700,000 people).
For people older than 75, vaccine effectiveness against COVID-associated MACE was 50.7%. (iStock)
Out of more than one million veterans studied, the average age was about 70 and 92% were male, according to a press release.
Within about eight months, the results showed that those who received the 2024-2025 COVID vaccine had a lower risk of COVID-associated major cardiovascular events, with a relative vaccine effectiveness of 37.7%.
The COVID vaccine was linked to a 57.9% lower risk of cardiovascular death, 38.5% lower risk of heart attack and 41.9% lower risk of hospitalization for heart failure, the researchers stated. The result for stroke was not statistically significant.
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The benefit was greatest among adults ages 75 and older and those with underlying health conditions. In people over 75, the vaccine was 50.7% effective at preventing COVID-associated MACE.
As the study was observational, it could not prove cause and effect between the COVID-19 vaccine and lower risk of cardiovascular events, but only highlighted an association.
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Dr. Glenn Hirsch, cardiologist at National Jewish Health in Denver, Colorado, called these results “not overall surprising” in an interview with Fox News Digital.
After eight months, those who received the 2024-2025 COVID vaccine had a lower risk of COVID-associated major cardiovascular events. (iStock)
“This result is consistent with previous studies of the COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines against infectious diseases [in] preventing cardiovascular events, including heart attack, cardiovascular cause of death or hospitalizations,” he said.
Acute inflammation in the body from infections like COVID-19 increases the risk of cardiovascular events and can cause further complications, according to the doctor.
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“This can lead to a higher risk of blood clotting, but can also make arterial plaques susceptible to rupture, which then leads to clot formation to heal a ruptured plaque,” he said. “This clotting can cause a near-total or complete occlusion of an artery, leading to these cardiovascular events.”
“Vaccines either prevent infection or reduce the severity of infection and subsequent inflammation, lowering the cardiovascular risk.”
Acute inflammation in the body from infections like COVID-19 can increase the risk of cardiovascular events, the study suggests. (iStock)
Despite the positive outcome, the overall benefit of the vaccine in this study was less than in previous studies, according to Hirsch, who was not involved in the research.
This could be due to the lower severity of illness seen in more recent COVID-19 variants, as well as immunity from prior infections among unvaccinated people, he noted. There has also been a decline in COVID testing, making it more difficult to link cardiovascular events to the virus.
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“The bottom line [is] that there is still evidence of benefit from COVID-19 vaccination like many other infectious disease vaccinations, and people should be encouraged to discuss these with their healthcare team annually,” Hirsch advised.
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“This is an observational trial and there can always be some confounding after necessary statistical adjustments and other potential benefits or harms, including adverse effects from vaccines that were not investigated in this study,” he added.
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A former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star is speaking out about a fresh wave of health issues.
Brandi Glanville, 53, has been speaking publicly about ongoing swelling, lumps and paralysis of her face since 2023.
At the time, the reality star shared that she believed she had been infected with a parasite during a trip to Morocco, Fox News Digital previously reported.
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After the initial diagnosis, she suspected she contracted a parasite in Morocco and said she could feel it moving within her face.
Brandi Glanville attends the grand opening of Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Clinic West Hollywood in West Hollywood, Calif., on April 25, 2024. (Paul Archuleta/Getty Images)
Glanville was first diagnosed with stress-induced angioedema, a sudden swelling of the deeper layers of the skin and mucous membranes, according to Cleveland Clinic.
Angioedema “is a reaction similar to hives that affects deeper layers of the skin. It can appear with hives or alone,” Mayo Clinic states.
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Most recently, in a June 18 episode of her podcast “Brandi Glanville Unfiltered,” Glanville revealed that doctors discovered a “benign tumor” in one of her facial lymph nodes.
The reality star, who has previously speculated that a parasite may be contributing to her facial symptoms, said the finding could help explain the swelling and fluid buildup she has experienced and noted that she has had a lump in her face for “years.”
Brandi Glanville, 53, has been speaking publicly about ongoing swelling, lumps and paralysis of her face since 2023. (Mega/GC Images)
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me, guys. I thought I was fixed, and then it happened again and now it’s sinking in again,” Glanville said in another June podcast.
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“It could be why the fluid is going around my face and why I’m having a hard time,” she added.
While benign tumors of the face have been known to arise from fat tissue, blood vessels, skin structures, salivary glands or lymphatic tissue, Glanville has not publicly disclosed the specific type of diagnosis she received.
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Prior to learning of the tumor, Glanville said she saw dozens of doctors and spent over $100,000 trying to pinpoint the source of the issue.
Brandi Glanville shares images of painful facial burns caused by Nair hair removal cream in a viral TikTok video. (Brandi Glanville/TikTok)
The reality star emphasized that the tumor is “not cancerous.”
“I haven’t had a face lift yet!” she added.
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Glanville also said she suspected her ruptured breast implants could have played a role in her health issues, claiming the leaking silicone had clogged her lymph nodes.
Fox News Digital reached out to Glanville for comment.
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