Evidence

The research behind every recommendation

This site says every recommendation is backed by more than 120 scientific studies. This is that list. Every source comes with a clickable reference, so you can read it yourself instead of taking my word for it. The list grows with the health check and the blog.

130 sources, 127 with a direct link to the study

Strength training (23)

  1. Bennie JA et al., PLOS ONE 2020 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0242220
  2. Eurostat, dataset hlth_ehis_pe9e, 2019 (physact MV_MSC en MV_AERO_MSC, geo BE en EU27_2020)
  3. Momma H et al., Br J Sports Med 2022 doi:10.1136/bjsports-2021-105061
  4. Shailendra P et al., Am J Prev Med 2022 doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2022.03.020
  5. Saeidifard F et al., Eur J Prev Cardiol 2019 doi:10.1177/2047487319850718
  6. Schoenfeld BJ et al., Med Sci Sports Exerc 2019 doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000001764
  7. Schoenfeld, Ogborn & Krieger, Sports Med 2016 doi:10.1007/s40279-016-0543-8
  8. Milne S, Orbell S, Sheeran P, Br J Health Psychol 2002 doi:10.1348/135910702169420
  9. Michie S et al., Health Psychology 2009 doi:10.1037/a0016136
  10. Silva MAV et al., PLOS ONE 2018 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0206294
  11. Bosquet L et al., Scand J Med Sci Sports 2013 doi:10.1111/sms.12047
  12. Bickel CS, Cross JM, Bamman MM, Med Sci Sports Exerc 2011 doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e318207c15d
  13. Ogasawara R et al., Eur J Appl Physiol 2013 doi:10.1007/s00421-012-2511-9
  14. Androulakis-Korakakis P, Fisher JP, Steele J, Sports Med 2020 doi:10.1007/s40279-019-01236-0
  15. Kader: Fyfe JJ, Hamilton DL, Daly RM, Sports Med 2022 doi:10.1007/s40279-021-01605-8
  16. Sports Med 2021 doi:10.1007/s40279-021-01490-1
  17. Volpi E, Nazemi R, Fujita S, Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 2004, PMC2804956
  18. Mitchell WK et al., Front Physiol 2012 doi:10.3389/fphys.2012.00260
  19. García-Hermoso A et al., Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2018 doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2018.01.008
  20. Gordon BR et al., JAMA Psychiatry 2018 doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2018.0572
  21. Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW, J Sports Sci 2017 doi:10.1080/02640414.2016.1210197
  22. Grøntved A et al., Arch Intern Med 2012 (32.002 mannen): 150 min/week krachttraining hangt samen met 34% minder diabetes type 2; Owen PJ et al., Br J Sports Med 2020 doi:10.1136/bjsports-2019-100886
  23. Plotkin D et al., PeerJ 2022 doi:10.7717/peerj.14142

Nutrition (19)

  1. Mamerow et al., J Nutr 2014 doi:10.3945/jn.113.185280
  2. Moore et al., Am J Clin Nutr 2009 doi:10.3945/ajcn.2008.26401
  3. Houston et al., Am J Clin Nutr 2008 doi:10.1093/ajcn/87.1.150
  4. Schoenfeld & Aragon, J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2018 doi:10.1186/s12970-018-0215-1
  5. Rong et al., J Am Coll Cardiol 2019 doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2019.01.065
  6. Ballon et al., J Nutr 2019 doi:10.1093/jn/nxy194
  7. Leidy et al., Am J Clin Nutr 2013 doi:10.3945/ajcn.112.053116
  8. Sievert et al., BMJ 2019 doi:10.1136/bmj.l42
  9. Vandevijvere et al., Eur J Nutr 2019 doi:10.1007/s00394-018-1870-3
  10. Hall et al., Cell Metab 2019 doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2019.05.008
  11. Lane et al., BMJ 2024 doi:10.1136/bmj-2023-077310
  12. Forman et al., Ann Behav Med 2017 doi:10.1007/s12160-017-9897-x
  13. Ducrot et al., Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 2017 doi:10.1186/s12966-017-0461-7
  14. Brasington et al., Nutrients 2025 doi:10.3390/nu17243901
  15. Morton et al., Br J Sports Med 2018 doi:10.1136/bjsports-2017-097608
  16. Lichtman et al., N Engl J Med 1992 doi:10.1056/NEJM199212313272701
  17. Weigle et al., Am J Clin Nutr 2005 doi:10.1093/ajcn.82.1.41
  18. Am J Clin Nutr 2015 doi:10.3945/ajcn.114.084038
  19. Burke et al., J Am Diet Assoc 2011 doi:10.1016/j.jada.2010.10.008

Sleep (20)

  1. Gisle, Hermans, Duveau. Gezondheidsenquête 2023-2024: Geestelijke gezondheid. Sciensano, oktober 2025, p. 23, 25 en 37 www.sciensano.be/sites/default/files/1-report_mental_health_nl_v2.pdf
  2. Itani, Jike, Watanabe, Kaneita. Sleep Medicine 2017 doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2016.08.006
  3. Nedeltcheva e.a. Annals of Internal Medicine 2010;153:435 doi:10.7326/0003-4819-153-7-201010050-00006
  4. Spiegel, Tasali, Penev, Van Cauter. Annals of Internal Medicine 2004;141:846 doi:10.7326/0003-4819-141-11-200412070-00008
  5. Tasali e.a., JAMA Internal Medicine 2022 doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.8098
  6. Al Khatib e.a., American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2018 doi:10.1093/ajcn/nqx030
  7. Jike e.a., Sleep Medicine Reviews 2018 doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2017.06.011
  8. Windred e.a. Sleep 2024;47:zsad253 doi:10.1093/sleep/zsad253
  9. Huang & Redline. Diabetes Care 2019;42:1422 doi:10.2337/dc19-0596
  10. Wong e.a. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 2015;100:4612 doi:10.1210/jc.2015-2923
  11. Aanvullend: Roenneberg e.a., Current Biology 2012 doi:10.1016/j.cub.2012.03.038
  12. Chaput e.a., Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism 2020 doi:10.1139/apnm-2020-0032
  13. Sciensano 2023-2024, p. 30 en 31; BELHEALTH Bulletin 3, oktober 2023, p. 4 www.sciensano.be/sites/default/files/bulletin_3_belhealth_nl.pdf
  14. Van Dongen e.a. Sleep 2003;26:117 doi:10.1093/sleep/26.2.117
  15. Sundelin, Landry, Axelsson. Journal of Sleep Research 2024;33:e14054 doi:10.1111/jsr.14054
  16. Drake e.a. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine 2013 doi:10.5664/jcsm.3170
  17. Drake e.a. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine 2013. DOI 10.5664/jcsm.3170; Gardiner e.a. Sleep Medicine Reviews 2023 doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2023.101764
  18. Knowles e.a., Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 2018 doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2018.01.012
  19. He, Tu, Xiao e.a. PLOS ONE 2020;15:e0228756 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0228756
  20. Sciensano 2023-2024, p. 60 en 61

Lifestyle (26)

  1. Preventiebarometer 2022, Vlaanderen doi:10.25608/rf3m-6489
  2. Patterson e.a., Eur J Epidemiol 2018, 34 studies, 1,33 miljoen deelnemers doi:10.1007/s10654-018-0380-1
  3. Ekelund e.a., Lancet 2016, >1 miljoen deelnemers doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30370-1
  4. Ekelund e.a., BMJ 2019, n=36.383 doi:10.1136/bmj.l4570
  5. Hoe e.a., Cochrane 2018 doi:10.1002/14651858.CD008570.pub3
  6. Mazaheri-Tehrani e.a., Prev Med 2023, 27 studies doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2023.107711
  7. Dunstan e.a., Diabetes Care 2012 doi:10.2337/dc11-1931
  8. Buffey e.a., Sports Med 2022 doi:10.1007/s40279-022-01649-4
  9. Andersen e.a., Pain 2011 doi:10.1016/j.pain.2010.11.016
  10. Cochrane, Luger e.a. 2025 doi:10.1002/14651858.CD012886.pub3
  11. Strain e.a., Lancet Glob Health 2024 doi:10.1016/S2214-109X(24)00150-5
  12. Reynolds e.a., Diabetologia 2016 doi:10.1007/s00125-016-4085-2
  13. Garcia e.a., Br J Sports Med 2023, 94 cohorten, >30 miljoen deelnemers doi:10.1136/bjsports-2022-105669
  14. Sianoja e.a., J Occup Health Psychol 2018 doi:10.1037/ocp0000083
  15. Wyatt e.a., Nat Metab 2021 doi:10.1038/s42255-021-00383-x
  16. Hill e.a., Health Psychol Rev 2022 doi:10.1080/17437199.2021.1923406
  17. Lloyd e.a., Physiol Behav 1994 doi:10.1016/0031-9384(94)90260-7
  18. Reyner e.a., Physiol Behav 2012 doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.11.025
  19. Shukla e.a., BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care 2017 doi:10.1136/bmjdrc-2017-000440
  20. Shukla e.a., Diabetes Care 2015 doi:10.2337/dc15-0429
  21. Monk, Clin Sports Med 2005 doi:10.1016/j.csm.2004.12.002
  22. Kivimäki e.a., Lancet 2015 doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60295-1
  23. Bennett, Bakker & Field, J Organ Behav 2018, 54 steekproeven, N=26.592 doi:10.1002/job.2217
  24. Basisinstrument: Sonnentag & Fritz, J Occup Health Psychol 2007 doi:10.1037/1076-8998.12.3.204
  25. Whillans e.a., PNAS 2017 doi:10.1073/pnas.1706541114
  26. Eveneens NIET GEVERIFIEERD: Kasser & Sheldon 2009 J Bus Ethics doi:10.1007/s10551-008-9696-1

Structure and behaviour (14)

  1. Gollwitzer & Sheeran, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 38, 2006, 69-119 doi:10.1016/S0065-2601(06)38002-1
  2. Bélanger-Gravel, Godin & Amireault, Health Psychology Review 7, 2013, 23-54 doi:10.1080/17437199.2011.560095
  3. Peng et al., Int J Environ Res Public Health 19, 2022, 7337 doi:10.3390/ijerph19127337
  4. Schumacher et al., Obesity 27, 2019 doi:10.1002/oby.22535
  5. Lally, van Jaarsveld, Potts & Wardle, European Journal of Social Psychology 40, 2010, 998-1009 doi:10.1002/ejsp.674
  6. Byrne, Cooper & Fairburn, Behaviour Research and Therapy 42, 2004, 1341-1356 doi:10.1016/j.brat.2003.09.004
  7. Byrne, Cooper & Fairburn, International Journal of Obesity 27, 2003, 955-962 doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0802305
  8. Sniehotta, Scholz & Schwarzer, British Journal of Health Psychology 11, 2006, 23-37 doi:10.1348/135910705X43804
  9. Kwasnicka, Presseau, White & Sniehotta, Health Psychology Review 7, 2013, 129-145 doi:10.1080/17437199.2013.766832
  10. Carraro & Gaudreau, Psychology of Sport and Exercise 14, 2013, 228-248 doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2012.10.004
  11. Kwasnicka, Dombrowski, White & Sniehotta, Health Psychology Review 10, 2016, 277-296 doi:10.1080/17437199.2016.1151372
  12. Milyavskaya & Inzlicht, Social Psychological and Personality Science 8, 2017, 603-611 doi:10.1177/1948550616679237
  13. Perspectives on Psychological Science 11, 2016 doi:10.1177/1745691615623247
  14. Hagger et al., Perspectives on Psychological Science 11, 2016 doi:10.1177/1745691616652873

Differences between men and women (28)

  1. Roberts, Nuckols & Krieger, J Strength Cond Res 2020 doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000003521
  2. Jones et al., Sports Med 2021 doi:10.1007/s40279-020-01388-4
  3. Jones et al., Sports Med 2021, doi 10.1007/s40279-020-01388-4) en Refalo et al., PeerJ 2025 doi:10.7717/peerj.19042
  4. Kanis et al., Osteoporos Int 2000 doi:10.1007/s001980070064
  5. Finkelstein et al., JCEM 2008 doi:10.1210/jc.2007-1876
  6. 2 x 30 min per week, 8 maanden) gaf +2,9% botdichtheid in de wervelkolom versus 1,2% verlies in de controlegroep bij 101 postmenopauzale vrouwen, RCT. Watson et al., JBMR 2018 doi:10.1002/jbmr.3284
  7. Feldman et al., JCEM 2002 doi:10.1210/jcem.87.2.8201
  8. Goodpaster et al., J Gerontol A 2006 doi:10.1093/gerona/61.10.1059
  9. Petermann-Rocha et al., J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle 2022 doi:10.1002/jcsm.12783
  10. Kerr et al., Am J Sports Med 2010 doi:10.1177/0363546509351560
  11. Milman et al., Am J Clin Nutr 2017 doi:10.3945/ajcn.117.156000
  12. Zaiser et al., Front Nutr 2025 doi:10.3389/fnut.2025.1680872
  13. Péneau et al., Am J Clin Nutr 2013 doi:10.3945/ajcn.112.054916
  14. Black 1997 via Macdiarmid & Blundell, Nutr Res Rev 1998 doi:10.1079/NRR19980017
  15. Zhang & Wing, Sleep 2006 doi:10.1093/sleep/29.1.85
  16. Baker et al., Nat Sci Sleep 2018 doi:10.2147/NSS.S125807
  17. Kravitz et al., Menopause 2003 doi:10.1097/00042192-200310010-00005
  18. Heinzer et al., Lancet Respir Med 2015 doi:10.1016/S2213-2600(15)00043-0
  19. Peppard et al., Am J Epidemiol 2013 doi:10.1093/aje/kws342
  20. Chan et al., Sleep Breath 2012 doi:10.1007/s11325-011-0596-8
  21. Matthews et al., JACC 2009 doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2009.10.009
  22. Anand et al., Eur Heart J 2008 doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehn018
  23. Dyrstad et al., MSSE 2014 doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e3182a0595f
  24. Santos et al., Obesity Reviews 2017 doi:10.1111/obr.12466
  25. Robertson et al., Health Technology Assessment 2014 doi:10.3310/hta18350
  26. Cross, Copping & Campbell, Psychological Bulletin 2011 doi:10.1037/a0021591
  27. Pagoto et al., Obesity 2012 doi:10.1038/oby.2011.140
  28. Williams et al., Obesity Reviews 2015 doi:10.1111/obr.12241