Browse the evidence

Replacing sugar-sweetened beverages with unsweetened beverages (USBs) reduces sweet taste preference (threshold and favorite concentration) more effectively than replacing them with artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs).

If your goal is to reduce your craving for sweet tastes, switching from sugary drinks to water is more effective than switching to diet soda. Over a year, water drinkers significantly lowered their preference for sweetness, while diet soda drinkers did not change their threshold for what tastes sweet.

Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) provided by Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs) significantly improves cardiometabolic risk factors (LDL-C, TG, BMI, BP, HbA1c) and reduces medication costs in patients with dyslipidemia and cardiometabolic risk.

If you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or obesity, ask your doctor for a referral to a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN). Multiple visits with an RDN are proven to improve your numbers and may reduce your need for medications.

External provision of all food significantly improves adherence to both ketogenic and Mediterranean diets compared to self-provided food, although adherence drops for both when participants must source and prepare their own meals.

If you are trying to follow a specific diet like Keto or Mediterranean, your environment matters more than you think. The study shows that providing all meals for the first month significantly boosts adherence for both diets. When you switch to buying and cooking your own food, adherence drops for everyone, regardless of the diet type. To succeed, consider using meal delivery services or heavy pre-preparation for the first few weeks to build the habit and knowledge, rather than relying on willpower alone to source specific foods from scratch.

High leisure-time physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of incident atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ACVD), independent of other lifestyle factors.

Aim for high leisure-time physical activity, defined as >50 MET-hours per week. This can be achieved through various activities of different intensities. This level of activity significantly reduces your risk of heart disease and stroke, even when accounting for your diet and other risk factors.

Autoregulated resistance training using performance-based metrics (velocity, RIR, or RPE) optimizes adaptation by matching training stress to individual daily readiness and recovery, thereby reducing overtraining risk compared to fixed-load prescriptions.

Use tools like Reps in Reserve (RIR) or barbell velocity to decide your daily weights. If you feel fatigued or sluggish, lower the weight or reduce reps to maintain good form and velocity. If you feel great, push closer to failure or increase weight. This ensures you are training at the right intensity for your body on that specific day, rather than forcing a number that might be too hard or too easy.

Bariatric patients should maintain a fluid intake of approximately 2.5 L/day to achieve a urinary volume of 2.5 L/day, mitigating the risk of stone formation caused by low urinary volume.

Drink 2.5 liters of water daily to prevent kidney stones. If your stomach is small, drink water between meals, not with them. Aim for 30 minutes before or 1 hour after eating. Avoid sugary drinks.

Ultraprocessed foods contribute to weight regain and hinder weight loss maintenance by increasing caloric intake and body fat gain, independent of macronutrient composition, due to their palatability and marketing.

Focus on reducing ultraprocessed foods rather than obsessing over macronutrient ratios. Studies show that even when matched for fat, sugar, and fiber, ultraprocessed foods lead to greater calorie intake and fat gain. Prioritizing unprocessed foods supports weight maintenance by reducing the drive to overeat.

Successful long-term weight loss maintenance is strongly predicted by high levels of physical activity (200-300 min/week) and behavioral strategies like self-monitoring, rather than just the amount of initial weight loss.

To maintain weight loss, aim for 200-300 minutes of moderate physical activity per week. This is a key trait of successful maintainers. Combine this with self-monitoring (weighing yourself, tracking food) and portion control. Remember, how much you lose initially doesn't predict long-term success; your ongoing behaviors do.

A personalized, goal-directed Health Partner intervention significantly improves cardiometabolic risk profiles and metrics of ideal cardiovascular health (Life's Simple 7) in healthy adults, with effects sustained for 2 years.

To improve your cardiovascular health, you need more than just willpower; you need a structured, personalized plan with regular check-ins. This study shows that working with a trained 'Health Partner' who reviews your specific health data (blood pressure, cholesterol, BMI) and helps you set realistic goals leads to sustained improvements over two years. The key is the ongoing support and personalized feedback, not just generic advice.

Cardiac rehabilitation involving moderate-intensity endurance exercise (≥150 min/week) combined with resistance training (3 sessions/week) improves functional capacity, cardiovascular risk factors, and weight loss in patients with obesity.

If you have obesity and cardiovascular risk, aim for 150 minutes of moderate exercise (like brisk walking) and 3 days of resistance training (weights) per week. This is a standard recommendation to improve your heart health and fitness. Start slowly and consider a supervised program if you have existing heart conditions.

Telemedical coaching combined with automated monitoring significantly improves long-term weight loss and cardiometabolic health in overweight individuals compared to monitoring alone or routine care.

To lose weight sustainably, combine self-monitoring with human support. Use a smart scale and pedometer that automatically upload your data to a portal. Crucially, engage with a coach weekly via phone to discuss your data, set goals, and stay motivated. This combination of technology and personal accountability is more effective than tracking alone.

Lifestyle interventions (diet and exercise) reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes in individuals with prediabetes, but the benefit is primarily established for those with Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT) and may not apply to those with isolated Impaired Fasting Glucose (IFG).

If you have prediabetes, lifestyle changes are your first line of defense. Aim for 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week and a healthy diet. Even if you don't lose the full 7% of your body weight, just meeting the exercise goal can significantly reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Lifestyle interventions, specifically weight loss and regular physical activity, improve endothelial function and insulin sensitivity in the skeletal muscle vasculature.

To fix insulin resistance, combine moderate exercise (150 minutes/week) with a modest calorie deficit (500 calories/day) for at least 6 months. This specific combination has been shown to physically improve how your blood vessels deliver insulin to your muscles.

Physical activity can significantly reduce the genetic risk of obesity, specifically by mitigating the effects of the FTO gene.

If you have a family history of obesity, regular physical activity is your most powerful tool to counteract your genetic risk. Aim for consistent activity to reduce your FTO gene's impact by nearly 30%.

A structured lifestyle educational program significantly improves long-term adherence to non-pharmacological hypertension interventions (diet and exercise) compared to usual care, resulting in sustained reductions in blood pressure, body weight, and cardiovascular risk factors over two years.

If you have high blood pressure, simply being told to eat better and exercise is often not enough to keep you on track long-term. To see lasting benefits, you need a structured support system. This study shows that attending regular educational sessions with healthcare providers helps you stick to your diet and exercise plan, leading to better blood pressure control and weight loss over two years compared to standard check-ups alone.

A multicomponent workplace-based Mediterranean diet intervention significantly improves adherence to Mediterranean diet principles in career firefighters over 12 months.

To improve your diet, don't just rely on knowing what to eat. Change your environment. Make healthy food cheaper and more available (discounts, samples). Get your family and coworkers involved. Use reminders and cooking demos to make the new habits easier to stick with over the long term.

Intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) reduces cardiovascular event risk in adults with overweight/obesity and type 2 diabetes ONLY when the patient maintains at least 50% of the time in the target weight loss range (>50% TIR) after initial weight loss.

For adults with type 2 diabetes and obesity, the cardiovascular benefits of lifestyle changes (diet and exercise) are not guaranteed by weight loss alone; they are contingent on maintaining that weight loss. If you lose weight but regain it, you may not see the expected reduction in heart disease risk. Therefore, the primary goal of lifestyle intervention should be long-term weight maintenance, not just initial loss.

A 12-week web-based weight loss intervention combined with enhanced remote human support (telephone and email) based on Supportive Accountability significantly increases weight loss in male workers aged 18-39 compared to standard support or no support.

For young male workers struggling with weight, a web-based program that includes regular, supportive check-ins (via phone or email) from a single provider is more effective than self-directed internet programs. The key is building a trusting relationship with the provider through 'Supportive Accountability,' which encourages adherence without being overly directive.

A low-intensity web-based weight loss intervention with standard human support (face-to-face sessions and monthly emails) is effective for weight loss in male workers aged 18-39.

Even a minimal web-based intervention with just two face-to-face meetings and monthly emails can help young male workers lose weight. This suggests that for those with high motivation, less intensive support may be sufficient.

Adherence to treatment protocols is a critical determinant of success in obesity management, and individualized care plans are recommended to improve adherence.

Success depends on sticking to your plan. If you find yourself struggling to follow a complex regimen, ask your doctor for an individualized care plan. A multidisciplinary team (doctors, dietitians, psychologists) can tailor the approach to your life, making it easier to adhere to long-term.

An online multidisciplinary collaborative weight loss management program significantly improves glycemic control (HbA1c, fasting, and postprandial blood glucose) and self-management abilities in obese or overweight patients with type 2 diabetes compared to conventional outpatient management.

If you have type 2 diabetes and are overweight, an online program with a dedicated team (doctor, dietitian, exercise coach, psychologist) can help you manage your blood sugar and weight better than standard clinic visits. You will need to use a smartphone app to log your food, exercise, and body measurements daily, and participate in online courses. The program provides regular feedback and support from experts to help you stay on track. This approach has been shown to significantly lower HbA1c and improve your ability to manage your health.

High protein intake is the most satiating macronutrient per calorie and promotes weight loss and fat loss when combined with calorie restriction, primarily by preserving lean mass and increasing energy expenditure.

Eating more protein helps you feel full and lose weight, especially if you are also eating fewer calories or exercising. It helps keep your muscles while you lose fat. However, just eating protein without exercise won't necessarily make you a better athlete or significantly stronger.

Spreading total training volume across more sessions (higher frequency) reduces the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) for high-fatigue exercises like the barbell back squat, particularly in the middle stages of a training block.

If you find squats extremely exhausting or difficult to recover from when training them only twice a week, try splitting your squat volume across more sessions (e.g., 3-4 times a week). This will lower your perceived exertion per session without reducing your strength gains, making your training more sustainable.

Weight loss of 2.5% to 20% in individuals with obesity (with or without type 2 diabetes) is associated with statistically significant improvements in health state utilities, with the magnitude of utility gain increasing non-linearly with the percentage of weight lost.

For individuals with obesity, losing even small amounts of weight (2.5%) improves quality of life, with greater benefits as weight loss increases up to 20%. This improvement is not linear; the utility gains are significant across the board. Patients should be encouraged that weight loss positively impacts their perceived health state, though those concerned about looking 'too skinny' or losing strength should be reassured that health-focused weight management prioritizes function.