Browse the evidence

Aerobic exercise training significantly reduces HbA1c levels in individuals with type II diabetes, with the magnitude of reduction increasing as program duration extends beyond 12 weeks.

Engage in aerobic exercise regularly. While any amount helps, extending your program duration beyond 12 weeks is key to maximizing HbA1c reductions. Aim for a median of 150 minutes per week, spread over 3 sessions, to see significant clinical improvements in blood sugar control.

Higher levels of leisure-time physical activity are consistently and positively associated with higher cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in adults.

To improve your cardiorespiratory fitness, prioritize your leisure-time physical activity. This doesn't necessarily mean joining a gym; it includes any recreational exercise you do. The evidence shows that doing more of this activity consistently leads to better fitness levels, which is a strong predictor of long-term health.

Group-based education excluding patients on insulin therapy results in greater reductions in HbA1c compared to interventions including patients on insulin therapy.

If you are on insulin, group education still helps, but the HbA1c reduction might be smaller than for those not on insulin. This may be due to the complexity of balancing insulin with lifestyle changes.

Lifestyle interventions (caloric restriction and exercise) are the foundation of MASLD treatment but often fail to achieve sufficient or sustained weight loss, necessitating pharmaceutical intervention.

Start with lifestyle changes: eat less and move more. This is the foundation of treating fatty liver. However, be realistic: it is very hard to maintain these changes long-term, and many people struggle to lose enough weight. If lifestyle changes are not enough, talk to your doctor about adding medications like GLP-1RAs or SGLT2-is, which can help you achieve the weight loss needed to improve your liver health.

Current clinical guidelines recommend continuing GLP-1 receptor agonists for most patients undergoing elective surgery, shifting away from routine preoperative cessation.

Do not stop your GLP-1 medication before surgery unless your surgeon or anesthesiologist explicitly tells you to. Most modern guidelines now say you should keep taking it, and you should discuss your specific risk factors with them.

The IWQOL-Lite-CT is a validated patient-reported outcome measure that accurately detects clinically meaningful improvements in physical and psychosocial functioning in patients with overweight or obesity undergoing weight management interventions.

Use the IWQOL-Lite-CT to track how weight loss interventions impact patients' daily physical and psychosocial functioning. It is a validated, 20-item questionnaire that provides a comprehensive assessment of treatment benefit from the patient's perspective, suitable for clinical trials and potentially clinical practice to gauge meaningful within-patient change.

Behavioral weight management programs (BWMPs) involving diet and/or exercise do not harm mental health despite common weight regain, and may improve specific mental health dimensions (psychological wellbeing, self-esteem, depression, anxiety) at and after program end.

If you are doing a weight loss program, don't worry if you regain some weight; it doesn't mean your mental health will suffer. In fact, these programs often improve your self-esteem, anxiety, and overall wellbeing, even after the program ends. Focus on the behavioral changes and mental health benefits, not just the scale.

Resistance exercise studies must report specific training parameters (e.g., exercise selection, intensity, volume, rest intervals) to ensure scientific transparency and allow for replication.

If you are designing or reporting a resistance training study, use the PRIRES checklist to ensure you report all relevant training parameters, including exercise selection, intensity, volume, rest intervals, and progression rules.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the current treatment of choice for Binge Eating Disorder and is effective in reducing binge frequency and achieving remission, though it may not significantly reduce weight.

If you have Binge Eating Disorder, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the most effective treatment available. It typically involves weekly sessions for 12-16 weeks and helps you identify triggers and change thought patterns. While it may not lead to significant weight loss, it is highly effective at stopping binge episodes and achieving remission. If traditional CBT is not accessible, ask about guided self-help options.

Termination of long-term intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) counseling in adults with type 2 diabetes does not trigger rapid, significant weight regain; instead, participants maintain weight loss for at least 2 years post-termination, with ILI participants retaining significantly greater use of weight-control behaviors than controls.

If you have type 2 diabetes and are overweight, sticking to the healthy habits you learned during a weight loss program (like counting calories, exercising, and weighing yourself) can help you keep the weight off for years, even after you stop seeing a counselor regularly. You don't necessarily need to pay for ongoing sessions to maintain your progress, as long as you keep practicing the behaviors.

Healthcare professionals (HCPs) significantly overestimate patient fear of injectable weight loss medications, leading to under-prescription of these effective treatments.

Doctors often assume patients hate needles, but many don't. If you are open to injections, tell your doctor. They may not be offering them because they think you'll refuse, not because you actually will.

Patients prioritize minimizing gastrointestinal side effects (nausea, diarrhea) over maximum percentage of body weight loss, whereas HCPs prioritize maximum weight loss.

When choosing a weight loss medication, patients care more about avoiding stomach issues than getting the absolute lowest number on the scale, while doctors care more about the scale number. Discuss your tolerance for side effects with your doctor to find the right balance.

Childhood obesity is a strong predictor of adult obesity, with obese children being approximately five times more likely to remain obese in adulthood compared to normal-weight peers.

If your child is obese, do not wait for them to 'grow out of it.' The risk of them remaining obese into adulthood is 80%. Address dietary habits and physical activity early to prevent long-term metabolic health issues.

Television viewing time has a stronger association with mortality and type 2 diabetes risk than total sedentary time, with specific thresholds identified for increased risk.

Watching TV is particularly risky for your health. Try to limit TV time to under 3.5 hours a day, as this specific activity carries a higher risk of mortality and diabetes than other forms of sitting.

High sedentary time is a convincing risk factor for increased Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) incidence.

Reducing your sedentary time is a highly effective strategy to reduce your risk of Type 2 Diabetes. The evidence is very strong: people who spend more time being sedentary have a significantly higher risk of developing the disease. Try to incorporate more movement into your daily routine, even if you already exercise.

The hazardous effects of sedentary behavior on mortality are more pronounced in physically inactive people, and high levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) can attenuate but not fully eliminate the risk associated with high sedentary time.

If you sit a lot, exercise is crucial to mitigate the risk, but it may not fully erase it. Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per week, but also try to stand up and move frequently during the day.

Digital cognitive behavioral therapy (dCBT) for insomnia significantly improves functional health, psychological well-being, and sleep-related quality of life compared to sleep hygiene education, with these improvements mediated by the reduction in insomnia symptoms.

If you suffer from insomnia, digital CBT (like the Sleepio program) is a highly effective, evidence-based treatment. It not only improves your sleep but also significantly boosts your daytime health, mood, and overall quality of life. This treatment is delivered online, making it accessible, and has been shown to be superior to standard sleep hygiene advice in large-scale trials.

Front-of-package (FOP) nutrition labels significantly improve consumers' ability to identify healthier products, but their ability to nudge actual purchase behavior or consumption toward healthier choices is limited.

Use Front-of-Package labels to quickly scan for healthier options among similar products, as they effectively aid identification. However, do not rely on these labels alone to control portion sizes or total calorie intake, as they often trigger a 'health halo' that may lead to consuming more of unhealthy 'vice' products. For actual dietary changes, cross-reference with the full Nutrition Facts Panel or other nutritional data.

Interpretive nutrient-specific labels (e.g., Traffic Light) improve health perceptions for both 'virtue' (healthy) and 'vice' (unhealthy) products, but only increase purchase intention for virtue products.

When using nutrient-specific labels like Traffic Lights, be aware that they may make you perceive unhealthy ('vice') products as healthier than they are, without necessarily making you buy them. However, they do successfully encourage the purchase of healthy ('virtue') products. Use these labels to reinforce good choices, but do not assume a 'green' label on a junk food item makes it a healthy choice.

A multicomponent workplace wellness program (nutrition, physical activity, stress reduction) significantly increases self-reported healthy behaviors (exercise, weight management) but has no significant effect on clinical health markers, healthcare spending, or employment outcomes after 18 months.

If you are an employer considering a wellness program, expect it to boost employee engagement and self-reported healthy habits (like exercising more), but do not expect it to lower your healthcare bills or improve clinical health metrics (like weight or blood pressure) within 18 months. The program's value lies in behavioral nudges, not immediate clinical or financial ROI.

Real-time cardiac telerehabilitation reduces sedentary time and lowers medication costs compared to center-based cardiac rehabilitation, while center-based rehabilitation results in smaller waist and hip circumferences.

While both programs improve fitness, telerehabilitation helps patients sit less and costs less in medications. However, center-based programs might lead to slightly better reductions in waist and hip size. Choose telerehabilitation if cost and convenience are priorities, or center-based if anthropometric reduction is the primary goal.

Sarcopenia is defined by the presence of both low muscle mass and low muscle function (strength or physical performance).

To diagnose sarcopenia, you need both low muscle mass and low muscle function (strength or performance).

Gait speed is a critical predictor of survival, disability, and mobility loss in older adults, with a speed of approximately 0.8 m/s indicating median life expectancy.

Monitor your walking speed. If you walk slower than 0.8 meters per second (roughly 1.8 mph), you are at higher risk for early mortality and disability. Use this as a signal to engage in regular physical activity, particularly strength and balance training, to preserve your mobility and longevity.

A slower usual walking pace significantly amplifies the genetic effect on BMI, with the genetic score effect being 2.5 times higher in slow walkers compared to brisk walkers.

If you are genetically prone to obesity, how fast you walk matters. Walking at a brisk pace significantly reduces the genetic impact on your BMI compared to walking slowly. Increasing your daily walking speed is a low-barrier way to mitigate genetic risk.