Browse the evidence

4:3 intermittent fasting (80% energy restriction on 3 nonconsecutive days/week) produces modestly greater weight loss than matched daily caloric restriction over 12 months when both are delivered within a high-intensity, comprehensive behavioral weight loss program.

If you struggle with daily calorie counting, try 4:3 intermittent fasting: restrict calories by 80% on 3 nonconsecutive days a week and eat normally on the other 4. This approach led to slightly better weight loss than daily restriction in a 12-month study, likely because it is easier to stick to. Combine this with regular exercise and behavioral support for best results.

High levels of sedentary behavior (total sitting or TV viewing) are independently associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, and incident type 2 diabetes, even after adjusting for physical activity levels.

Sitting for more than 6-8 hours a day increases your risk of early death and heart disease, even if you exercise. Try to break up long periods of sitting with standing or light movement, as exercise alone may not fully counteract these risks.

Resistance training is safe for healthy older adults when properly designed with appropriate technique instructions and spotting.

Start with light weights or bodyweight exercises, focusing on perfect form. Get a professional to teach you the movements initially. This is safe and will help you stay independent.

Optimizing health outcomes in adults requires integrating sleep, sedentary behavior, and physical activity across the entire 24-hour day, as changes in one behavior affect the time available for others.

Stop viewing exercise in isolation. Your health depends on how you spend your entire day. Prioritize getting enough sleep, break up long periods of sitting, and include physical activity. If you sleep less, try to be more active or less sedentary to compensate, but recognize that all three components matter.

Regular exercise (specifically thrice-weekly moderate-intensity aerobic activity and twice-weekly resistance training) improves cancer-related health outcomes including fatigue, anxiety, depression, quality of life, and physical function, and does not exacerbate lymphedema.

If you have cancer or are a survivor, ask your oncologist about exercise. They can refer you to a program. The recommended dose is 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity 3 times a week and resistance training 2 times a week. This improves fatigue, mood, and function, and is safe even if you have lymphedema.

Sarcopenia should be screened using the SARC-F questionnaire and formally diagnosed using grip strength or chair stand tests combined with DXA measurement of muscle mass.

Healthcare providers should screen older patients for muscle loss using the SARC-F questionnaire. If positive, confirm the diagnosis with a grip strength test or chair stand test and a DXA scan to measure muscle mass.

Adherence to a combination of five low-risk lifestyle factors (never smoking, BMI 18.5-24.9, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity ≥30 min/day, moderate alcohol intake, and high diet quality) significantly increases life expectancy free of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.

To maximize your disease-free years, focus on five key areas: never smoke, maintain a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9, engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily, consume alcohol moderately (if at all), and eat a high-quality diet (top 40% of the Alternate Healthy Eating Index). Adhering to four or five of these factors can add approximately 10 years to your life expectancy free of major chronic diseases compared to having none.

Lifelong physical activity prevents the age-related decline in cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max), maintaining fitness levels comparable to individuals four decades younger and significantly reducing mortality risk.

To maintain your heart health and longevity, you must keep doing aerobic exercise throughout your life. Don't stop when you hit middle age; consistent training keeps your fitness level comparable to someone much younger and cuts your risk of early death significantly.

Physical inactivity is a direct cause of 40 chronic diseases and premature death, while physical activity prevents or treats these conditions.

Sitting is a major risk factor for chronic disease. To prevent conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart disease, you must incorporate regular physical activity into your life, as inactivity directly contributes to these illnesses.

Adherence to ideal combined lifestyle behaviors (smoking, BMI, physical activity, diet) significantly reduces the risk of incident cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, regardless of an individual's genetic risk score.

Focus on the four pillars: don't smoke, keep your weight in a healthy range, eat a diet rich in key components, and stay physically active. Doing this well significantly lowers your risk of heart disease and diabetes, even if you have a high genetic predisposition. Your lifestyle choices matter just as much for high-risk individuals as they do for low-risk ones.

High amounts of sedentary behavior increase the risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, and incident type 2 diabetes, with evidence graded as strong for these associations.

Sitting for long periods increases your risk of dying early and developing heart disease or diabetes, even if you exercise. To protect your health, try to break up long periods of sitting with light movement throughout the day, in addition to your regular exercise routine.

Strength training adaptations are driven by neural factors early on, and muscle hypertrophy requires reaching muscular failure regardless of load, though high loads are needed for maximal strength gains.

To build muscle, you don't necessarily need to lift heavy weights. As long as you train close to muscular failure, lighter weights can build muscle just as effectively. However, if your goal is maximal strength, you still need to lift heavy loads.

The risk reduction from lifestyle interventions for type 2 diabetes prevention is sustained for many years (up to 20 years) after the active intervention phase.

The effort you put into lifestyle changes now continues to protect you from type 2 diabetes for many years, even after you stop actively tracking your diet and exercise. The benefits do not disappear when the 'program' ends.

Lifestyle modification (LSM) interventions significantly reduce diabetes incidence in adults at risk, and unlike medications, these effects are sustained for several years after the active intervention ends, although the magnitude of benefit declines over time.

Adopting combined diet and physical activity changes is the most effective long-term strategy for preventing diabetes in at-risk adults. While the protective effect diminishes slightly over many years, it remains significant (28% risk reduction) long after active counseling ends. To maximize longevity, focus on sustainable habits rather than short-term intensity, as the physiological benefits of weight loss and improved insulin sensitivity persist.

Real-time remotely monitored exercise-based cardiac telerehabilitation (REMOTE-CR) is non-inferior to traditional centre-based cardiac rehabilitation in improving maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) in adults with coronary heart disease.

If you have heart disease, you can get effective cardiac rehab at home using a remote monitoring system. It involves 3 sessions a week for 12 weeks, where you exercise while wearing a sensor that sends your heart data to a specialist who coaches you in real-time. This approach is just as good for improving your fitness (VO2max) as going to a clinic, and it saves money and travel time.

App-based mobile interventions significantly improve nutrition behaviors and nutrition-related health outcomes, including obesity indices, blood pressure, and blood lipids, with small-to-medium effect sizes.

Use a mobile app that tracks your food and provides feedback. Look for apps that use behavior change techniques like setting goals and providing social support. This approach has been shown to improve your diet and health markers like blood pressure and weight, even if the changes are gradual.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is the first-line treatment for insomnia disorder, with hypnotics recommended only for short-term use when CBT-I is unavailable or ineffective.

If you have chronic insomnia, seek Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) as your primary treatment. It is the gold standard recommended by all major medical guidelines. Use sleep medications only as a short-term bridge if CBT-I is not accessible, not as a long-term solution.

Improving the availability of low-calorie beverages in the home environment decreases SSB intake and body weight in adolescents with overweight or obesity.

For families with overweight adolescents who drink a lot of soda, deliver or stock water and diet beverages at home. This simple environmental change has high-certainty evidence for reducing soda intake and body weight.

Supervised exercise interventions significantly improve self-reported quality of life (QoL) and physical function (PF) in patients with cancer during and following treatment, whereas unsupervised exercise does not produce statistically significant benefits for these outcomes.

For cancer patients, supervised exercise programs provide a small but statistically significant boost to quality of life and physical function compared to usual care. If supervision is not possible, unsupervised exercise alone may not significantly improve these self-reported outcomes unless the weekly energy expenditure is kept high. Prioritize supervised programs when available.

Doubling the proportion of vegetarian meal options available in a cafeteria from 25% to 50% significantly increases the selection and sales of vegetarian meals while decreasing meat meal sales, with the largest effect observed among diners with the lowest prior levels of vegetarian consumption.

To encourage more plant-based eating in a cafeteria, simply double the number of vegetarian dishes offered relative to meat dishes (e.g., from 1 out of 4 options to 2 out of 4). This simple change in availability significantly increases vegetarian sales, especially among those who rarely eat vegetarian meals, without negatively impacting total sales or causing rebound meat consumption at other meals.

Lifestyle interventions maintaining a carbohydrate-rich diet are safe and effective for preventing type 2 diabetes in high-risk individuals.

To prevent diabetes, focus on eating more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and stay active. You do not need to eliminate carbohydrates; in fact, a balanced diet with moderate carbs is safer and just as effective for long-term health.

Increasing leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) in later adulthood (ages 40-61) after a period of inactivity reduces all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer-related mortality to levels comparable to those who maintain high activity levels from adolescence.

If you have been inactive for most of your life, starting or significantly increasing your physical activity between ages 40 and 61 can drastically lower your risk of dying from any cause, heart disease, or cancer. You do not need to have been an athlete since youth to gain these life-extending benefits; the key is to become active in later adulthood.

Simple step-count monitoring interventions (pedometers) significantly increase daily step counts in community-dwelling adults, with effects sustained for up to 3-4 years, whereas more complex interventions (body-worn trackers, smartphone apps, counseling, or incentives) do not provide additional benefit and may be less effective.

Use a simple pedometer. It works. You don't need a smartphone app, a body-worn tracker, or expensive counseling to increase your steps. The data shows that simple step-count monitoring leads to sustained increases in physical activity for years, while more complex interventions offer no extra benefit and may even be less effective.

Functional and balance training performed at least twice weekly significantly reduces the rate of falls in adults over 50, with high-certainty evidence supporting this intervention for fracture prevention.

Perform balance and functional exercises at least twice a week. Focus on activities that challenge your stability, such as standing on one foot, heel raises, or agility drills. Progressively make these exercises harder by increasing speed, complexity, or resistance. This is the most effective non-pharmacological way to prevent falls in older adults.