Browse the evidence

High carbohydrate (CHO) availability before, during, and after exercise improves endurance performance by delaying glycogen depletion and maintaining high rates of CHO oxidation.

If you are training or competing for more than 90 minutes, prioritize high carbohydrate intake before, during, and after your sessions. This strategy is proven to improve performance by 2-3% in time trials and increase capacity by ~20% by ensuring your muscles have enough glycogen to sustain high-intensity effort without fatiguing early.

Aerobic exercise training significantly improves body composition, cardiovascular health, and metabolic profiles in patients with metabolic syndrome, with isolated aerobic exercise appearing optimal for reducing fat mass and body mass.

If you have metabolic syndrome, engaging in aerobic exercise for at least 12 weeks is a highly effective strategy to improve your health. You can expect improvements in your weight, waist size, blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels. You do not necessarily need to combine this with resistance training to see these benefits, as aerobic exercise alone is sufficient and optimal for many of these outcomes. Aim for moderate to high intensity aerobic activity, but consistency over 12+ weeks is key.

Weight loss of 5% to 10% of initial body weight produces clinically meaningful health benefits and is considered a success.

Aim for a 5-10% reduction in your starting weight. This amount is enough to improve your health markers and is considered a successful outcome by medical professionals.

Increasing physical activity to at least 30 minutes per day on 5 days a week, preferably combining cardiorespiratory endurance and resistance training, improves glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity.

Aim for 30 minutes of moderate activity, like brisk walking, on at least 5 days a week. If you can, add some strength exercises twice a week. If you can't do 30 minutes at once, break it into smaller chunks throughout the day; any movement counts.

Weight reduction interventions consistently lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure in overweight or hypertensive individuals, with the magnitude of blood pressure reduction being directly proportional to the amount of weight loss achieved.

If you are overweight or have high blood pressure, losing weight is one of the most effective non-pharmacological ways to lower your blood pressure. You do not need to reach an 'ideal' weight; the reduction in blood pressure is directly proportional to how much weight you lose. Aim for a sustained weight loss of around 9 kg (approx. 20 lbs) through dietary changes, ideally with professional support, which can result in a clinically significant drop in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

Maximal fat oxidation (MFO) occurs at exercise intensities between 45% and 65% of VO2max, with rates ranging from 0.17 to 1.27 g/min in trained individuals, and can exceed 1.5 g/min in ketogenic-adapted individuals.

To maximize the amount of fat your body burns per minute, exercise at a moderate intensity, specifically between 45% and 65% of your maximum heart rate capacity (VO2max). If you are adapted to a ketogenic diet, you may achieve even higher fat oxidation rates, but for most people, staying in this moderate zone is key for maximizing fat burning efficiency.

Consuming sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) increases total energy intake and body weight because humans fail to compensate for liquid calories by reducing solid food intake, unlike when consuming solid foods.

Stop drinking your calories. Replacing sugar-sweetened beverages with water or non-caloric drinks is one of the most effective ways to reduce overall energy intake because your body doesn't naturally compensate by eating less food later. This shift directly addresses the 'liquid energy' problem driving global obesity.

Adults should perform at least 30 minutes of daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity to maintain health, with 60 minutes recommended for weight gain prevention.

Aim for 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity every day. If you are trying to prevent weight gain, increase this to 60 minutes. You do not need to do it all at once; breaking it into 10-minute chunks throughout the day is effective.

High levels of physical activity can blunt the effect of obesity-predisposing genetic variants (specifically FTO) on BMI and obesity risk, reducing the genetic predisposition by approximately 40%.

If you have a family history of obesity, prioritize regular, high-level physical activity. Studies show this can reduce your genetic risk for obesity by up to 40%, effectively neutralizing much of the genetic predisposition.

A modest weight loss of 5–15% significantly reduces obesity-related health risks and is a realistic, effective treatment goal.

Stop aiming for perfection. Your primary goal should be to lose just 5-15% of your body weight. This modest reduction is scientifically proven to significantly lower your risk for diabetes, heart disease, and other obesity-related conditions. Focus on this achievable target rather than an arbitrary 'ideal' weight.

Adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern reduces the risk of developing MASLD by 23% compared to a Western dietary pattern.

Adopting a Mediterranean diet lowers your risk of MASLD by 23% compared to a Western diet. Focus on healthy fats, vegetables, and whole grains.

An 18-month weight loss intervention combining energy restriction and moderate exercise significantly reduces blood pressure in overweight adults with high-normal diastolic blood pressure, with the magnitude of reduction directly proportional to the amount of weight lost.

If you are overweight with high-normal blood pressure, losing weight through a combination of eating less (without going below 1200 calories) and moderate exercise (walking 4-5 times a week) will lower your blood pressure. The more weight you lose, the more your blood pressure drops. This effect is seen in both men and women, though men may lose more weight initially due to higher baseline weight.

Objectively measured light-intensity physical activity (LPA) is inversely associated with all-cause mortality and favorably associated with cardiometabolic risk factors (waist circumference, triglycerides, insulin, metabolic syndrome) in adults, even after adjusting for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA).

Incorporate more light movement into your daily routine. This includes activities like slow walking, standing, or light household chores. While vigorous exercise is important, adding light activity throughout the day provides independent health benefits, particularly for heart health and longevity, regardless of how much intense exercise you do.

For patients with type 2 diabetes, consuming a hypoenergetic diet as two larger meals (breakfast and lunch) yields superior reductions in body weight, hepatic fat content, fasting glucose, and insulin resistance compared to consuming the same caloric restriction across six smaller meals.

If you have type 2 diabetes, try eating all your daily calories in just two meals: a substantial breakfast and lunch. Stop eating by mid-afternoon. This approach, even with the same total calories as eating six small meals, leads to greater weight loss, less liver fat, and better blood sugar control. Skip the snacks.

High intake of dietary fiber and nuts is associated with less long-term weight gain in adults, whereas high intake of meat is associated with more weight gain.

To prevent weight gain, prioritize high-fiber foods like vegetables, whole grains, and nuts, and limit high-fat dairy, refined grains, meat, and sweets. Do not focus on changing the ratio of protein to carbs or fats, as the type of food matters more than the macronutrient breakdown.

High-intensity exercise suppresses relative energy intake more effectively than low-intensity exercise when energy expenditure is matched, promoting a greater negative energy balance.

If you want to maximize fat loss, high-intensity exercise might be more effective than low-intensity exercise, provided you can tolerate it. This is because high-intensity exercise suppresses your hunger relative to the calories you burned, creating a larger energy deficit. Start with low intensity if you are new to exercise, but consider increasing intensity as your fitness improves.

Dietary nitrate supplementation (e.g., beetroot juice) improves oxygen uptake kinetics and reduces the O2 cost of submaximal exercise, leading to performance improvements in time-to-exhaustion tasks (4-25%) and intermittent team-sport exercises (3-5%).

Consume 310-560mg of nitrate (typically via beetroot juice) 2-3 hours before your event. This improves efficiency and can boost performance by 3-5% in team sports or up to 25% in time-to-exhaustion tasks. It may take 3+ days of consistent intake for cumulative benefits.

Beta-alanine supplementation (3.2-6.4 g/day for 2-12 weeks) increases muscle carnosine levels and improves performance in high-intensity exercise lasting 30 seconds to 10 minutes.

Take 3.2-6.4g of beta-alanine daily, split into smaller doses (e.g., 0.8-1.6g every 3-4 hours) to avoid tingling. Do this for at least 2-4 weeks (up to 12 weeks for max benefit). This will improve your performance in high-intensity efforts lasting 30 seconds to 10 minutes.

The addition of exercise to a dietary intervention preserves lean body mass better than dieting alone, although the primary benefit for weight maintenance is behavioral adherence rather than metabolic preservation.

If you are losing weight, adding exercise helps protect your muscle mass better than dieting alone. While the calorie burn from exercise might seem small, it helps you keep the muscle you have, which supports long-term metabolic health and weight maintenance.

Weight loss of at least 10% is required to improve all features of NASH and stabilize or improve fibrosis, while a 5% loss stabilizes fibrosis.

To reverse NASH, aim for a 10% reduction in your total body weight. This level of loss has been shown to improve all features of the disease. If 10% feels unattainable, start with 5%, as this amount is sufficient to stabilize or improve liver fibrosis, preventing progression to cirrhosis. Combine this caloric deficit with increased physical activity and consider a Mediterranean diet for additional hepatic benefits.

Orlistat (120 mg three times daily with meals) produces significant weight loss and improves coronary heart disease risk profiles in obese patients, primarily by reducing dietary fat absorption.

Take 120 mg of Orlistat with each main meal containing fat. This blocks about 30% of dietary fat absorption. Stick to a low-fat diet to minimize gastrointestinal side effects like oily spotting. This leads to greater weight loss and improved heart disease risk factors compared to diet and placebo alone.

Frequent consumption of takeaway and fast food (defined as eating out or purchasing prepared meals at least once a week) is associated with increased daily energy intake, higher body mass index (BMI), and increased risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Frequent fast food consumption (defined as eating out or buying prepared meals at least once a week) is strongly linked to weight gain and metabolic issues. To mitigate this, limit fast food intake, as even occasional consumption adds significant calories (e.g., +130 kcal/meal) and unhealthy fats. Prioritize home-cooked meals to control energy density and nutrient quality.

Higher free-living physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) is independently associated with a lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome in adults, with a dose-response relationship where increased activity reduces risk.

To lower your risk of metabolic syndrome, focus on increasing your daily movement. You don't need intense gym sessions; adding about 30 minutes of brisk walking to your day can significantly reduce your risk. This is particularly relevant if you live in an urban environment where activity levels tend to be lower.

Medical nutrition therapy involving moderate caloric restriction (1600-1800 kcal/day) and physical activity is the primary management strategy for gestational diabetes, aiming to maintain normoglycemia and appropriate fetal growth without inducing ketosis.

Start with moderate caloric restriction (1600-1800 kcal/day) combined with physical activity. This is the first-line treatment for GDM. Avoid severe restriction to prevent ketosis, which can be harmful. Monitor glucose levels closely.