Study archive · page 15

Whole-body electromyostimulation improved maximum strength and power in sportspeople and athletes compared to no training, though effects were small to moderate and non-significant when compared directly to voluntary exercise.

⚠What it shows: Meta-analysis of 19 WB-EMS groups and 21 controls (18 trials for strength, 8 for power); high heterogeneity for strength (I² 86%); when superimposed on or versus traditional resistance exercise, effects were non-significant; applicability across sport disciplines variable.Review · Muscles

Combined aerobic and resistance training ranked highest for improving body mass index, waist circumference, LDL cholesterol and fasting glucose in metabolic syndrome; high-volume HIIT was most effective for body fat percentage.

⚠What it shows: Network meta-analysis of 53 studies, 2,948 participants; most evidence rated low or very low certainty; no single modality superior across all metabolic syndrome components; phenotype-specific outcomes suggest heterogeneous effectiveness.Study · iScience

Two-way ballistic and jump squat training both improve explosive strength in highly trained sprinters, but through different neuromuscular pathways: ballistic training enhances early-phase force production with greater vastus lateralis activation during take-off, whilst jump squat training preferentially improves reactive strength.

⚠What it shows: RCT in 40 highly trained male sprinters only; 6-week intervention; unclear whether findings generalise to other populations or training contexts.RCT · Scand J Med Sci Sports

Twenty-four weeks of hexagonal barbell deadlift-based resistance training twice weekly improves trunk lean mass, reduces body fat, and enhances trunk extensor strength and mobility in older women, with no adverse events reported.

⚠What it shows: Single RCT, n = 32 older women (mean age 67.6 years), supervised twice-weekly training; no assessment of long-term adherence or sustained benefits beyond 24 weeks; whole-body lean mass and lower-limb isokinetic strength did not differ between groups.Study · Exp Gerontol

Trained men taking 90 mg per kg of fat-free mass per day of liquid HMB alongside high-intensity functional training improved a broad set of aerobic markers more than placebo, including VO2max and thresholds. Maximal isometric strength did not change with supplementation in either trained or untrained men.

⚠What it shows: One triple-blind randomised placebo-controlled trial in 53 trained and 37 untrained males over two 3-week periods with only 2 training sessions per week; no women, short duration, and the dose is far above the commonly studied 3 g/day.RCT · J Int Soc Sports Nutr

In young male taekwondo athletes, 28 days of 12 mg daily astaxanthin produced a significant group-by-time interaction for creatine kinase, a marker of muscle damage, and higher antioxidant enzyme activity. Most burnout measures were unchanged.

⚠What it shows: One 28-day randomised, double-masked, placebo-controlled trial in young male taekwondo athletes; sample size not reported in the abstract. Several of the between-group differences were exploratory, and no burnout subscale showed a significant group-by-time interaction.Study · Nutr J

A small pilot trial suggests that taking creatine just before a resistance-training session may support slightly greater same-day strength than taking it during or after, though this is early, exploratory evidence rather than a firm recommendation.

⚠What it shows: A pilot crossover trial in just 11 active men, measuring single-session strength; the authors call it exploratory and say it needs confirming in larger, placebo-controlled studies.Pilot RCT (crossover) · n=11 · physically active men · Nutrients

In 95 geriatric female Rottweilers, dogs that had produced litters were 3 times more likely to be in the most robust fifth of the group in old age than dogs that never bred, and those with the most litters were the most robust. The predicted "frailty cost of reproduction" did not show up at all.

⚠What it shows: Observational study in 95 geriatric female Rottweiler dogs used as a preclinical model, not in humans; robustness was defined as the lowest quintile of a 34-item frailty index, the confidence interval was wide (OR 3.30, 1.16-9.38) and selection effects, though tested, cannot be fully excluded.Study · J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci

In a Finnish cohort of 1108 adults aged 34 to 49 followed for seven to nine years, a plain model of age, sex, smoking, alcohol, waist-hip ratio and BMI predicted new chronic disease better than any model that included a DNA methylation epigenetic clock. The authors argue clocks must demonstrate added value over cheap, familiar risk factors before being used clinically or sold as personal health monitoring.

⚠What it shows: Single population cohort of 1108 middle-aged Finns aged 34 to 49 at baseline with 7-to-9-year follow-up; results concern predicting incident non-communicable disease in relatively young adults and may not extend to older cohorts, longer follow-up or mortality outcomes.Study · Aging Cell

A 2026 meta-analysis in postmenopausal women found that creatine (around 5 g a day) alongside resistance training produced small but real gains in lean mass and leg strength, with no change in bone density and no safety signals.

⚠What it shows: Pooled from seven trials (608 women, median 38 weeks). Gains were modest, about 0.4 kg lean mass, and appeared mainly at ≥5 g a day with training; several trials had some risk-of-bias concerns, and bone density did not move.Meta-analysis (7 RCTs) · n=608 · postmenopausal women · J Int Soc Sports Nutr

In 182,181 UK Biobank participants, liking high-fat savoury foods was associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes (HR 1.14) and lung cancer (HR 1.10), while liking low-fat savoury foods tracked with lower risk of death, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Sweet preference on its own was not linked to increased risk, and most associations were not explained away by BMI.

⚠What it shows: Observational prospective cohort of 182,181 UK Biobank adults with food liking captured on a single 9-point hedonic scale; hazard ratios are small, several confidence intervals reach 1.00, and stated preferences are not measured intake. Associations cannot establish cause.Study · Br J Nutr

In a 2025 meta-analysis of nine trials in women, pairing a protein supplement with exercise gave small but significant gains in fat-free mass, muscle size and strength, but made no difference to fat mass or body-fat percentage.

⚠What it shows: Nine trials, 408 women aged 18 to 73. Muscle effects were small (about 0.45 kg fat-free mass) and there was no effect on fat loss; the authors call for more high-quality trials.Meta-analysis (9 RCTs) · n=408 · healthy women 18 to 73 · Front Nutr

Among 6313 UK Biobank adults with severe mental illness wearing accelerometers, meeting the recommended 150 minutes a week of moderate-to-vigorous activity was associated with 18% lower incident cardiovascular disease, 42% lower all-cause mortality and 49% lower cardiovascular mortality. Adding moderate light-intensity activity on top was linked to the lowest risk of all.

⚠What it shows: Prospective observational cohort, not a trial: 6313 UK Biobank participants with severe mental illness (mean age 61.05, 33.9% men), median 7 years of follow-up, with 233 deaths from any cause and 88 from cardiovascular disease. Activity was measured once by accelerometer, and reverse causation, sicker people moving less, cannot be ruled out.Study · J Am Heart Assoc

A meta-analysis of 12 randomised controlled trials in 1,057 college students found Tai Chi significantly reduced depression, anxiety and stress, and also improved sleep quality. The sleep finding came with substantial variation between studies.

⚠What it shows: Meta-analysis of 12 RCTs (1,057 college students only); anxiety and sleep results showed high heterogeneity, and optimal protocols remain undefined.Meta-analysis · Front Public Health

A four-week virtual education programme about andropause, delivered over WhatsApp, significantly improved general health and sleep quality scores in retired men compared with a control group, with effects assessed again two months later.

⚠What it shows: Quasi-experimental study of just 60 retired men in Iran (30 per group), relying on self-reported questionnaires; not registered as a trial and needs replication in larger, more diverse samples.RCT · Sleep Breath

Pooling 27 randomised trials, probiotics showed no significant effect on depressive symptoms over short (under 6 weeks) or medium (6-12 weeks) durations, with a significant benefit appearing only in a long-duration subgroup of just 2 studies. Prebiotics and postbiotics showed no clear effects.

⚠What it shows: Systematic review and meta-analysis of 27 RCTs published 2016-2024, but the only significant signal rests on 2 long-duration trials; substantial heterogeneity across studies and overall certainty rated moderate for inconsistency.Review · Nutr Neurosci