Browse the evidence

Higher trunk fat mass is independently associated with higher fasting and postload glucose levels, indicating a detrimental effect on glucose metabolism.

Focus on reducing abdominal fat, as it is the strongest predictor of high blood sugar. Use waist circumference or DXA scans to monitor trunk fat specifically, rather than just total body weight or hip size.

Diet-induced weight loss causes persistent perturbations in circulating appetite hormones (increased ghrelin, decreased leptin/PYY/GLP-1) that favor weight regain and persist for at least one year.

After losing weight, your body produces more hunger hormones (like ghrelin) and fewer satiety hormones (like leptin and GLP-1). This biological shift makes you hungrier and less full, promoting weight regain. This effect can last for a year or more, explaining why maintaining weight loss is biologically challenging.

Oral L-arginine supplementation (21g/day for 4 weeks) improves endothelium-dependent dilation in young adults with hypercholesterolemia.

If you are a young adult with high cholesterol, taking 21 grams of L-arginine daily for a month may help improve your blood vessel flexibility (endothelial function). This benefit is specific to those with elevated cholesterol; it does not lower cholesterol itself. Be aware that high doses can cause stomach upset, so monitor your tolerance.

Obesity induces chronic low-grade systemic inflammation through adipose tissue-derived cytokines (such as TNF-α, IL-6, and CRP), which accelerates atherosclerosis and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

If you have excess body fat, particularly around your midsection, your fat tissue is actively releasing inflammatory chemicals that damage your blood vessels and increase heart disease risk. Managing weight and reducing visceral fat can help lower this chronic inflammation and protect your cardiovascular health.

Increasing taste intensity (e.g., saltiness) while maintaining palatability reduces meal intake by approximately 9% through enhanced satiation, independent of how much the food is liked.

Enhance the taste intensity of your meals (e.g., using herbs, spices, or appropriate salt levels) without necessarily increasing calories. Stronger tastes can signal nutrient presence and increase satiation, helping you stop eating sooner.

PPARgamma activation via thiazolidinediones (TZDs) like rosiglitazone and pioglitazone induces a metabolically beneficial shift in lipid repartitioning from visceral and ectopic storage (liver, muscle) to subcutaneous adipose tissue.

If you are prescribed a TZD (like pioglitazone) for diabetes, understand that any weight gain is likely shifting from dangerous visceral/organ fat to safer subcutaneous fat, which is metabolically protective.

Concomitant administration of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) prevents the protein catabolic effects of pharmacologic doses of the glucocorticoid prednisone in healthy adults.

If you are taking high-dose prednisone for a medical condition, you may experience muscle loss. This research suggests that adding human growth hormone (rhGH) can stop this muscle breakdown. However, this study was done on healthy young adults, not patients with chronic diseases, so do not attempt this without strict medical supervision.

Supplementation with 4 g/day of purified docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) significantly lowers 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure and heart rate in overweight, mildly hyperlipidemic men, whereas an equivalent dose of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) has no significant effect on these cardiovascular parameters.

If you are an overweight man with mildly high cholesterol looking to lower your blood pressure and heart rate, taking 4 grams of pure DHA daily for at least six weeks may help. Simply taking generic fish oil or EPA alone may not provide these specific blood pressure benefits, as this study showed EPA had no effect on blood pressure or heart rate in this population.

Fructose, particularly when consumed in high amounts via beverages, promotes de novo lipogenesis, increases visceral adipose tissue, and impairs insulin sensitivity, contributing to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and metabolic syndrome.

Be mindful of high-fructose intake, especially from beverages. While fruit is healthy, fruit juice and fruit juice concentrate can deliver high doses of fructose that may harm liver health and insulin sensitivity. Limit fruit juice to small amounts and prioritize whole fruits.

Chronic administration of a long-acting GLP-1/Glucagon receptor dual agonist (DualAG) causes superior weight loss and lipid lowering in diet-induced obese mice compared to a GLP-1 receptor selective agonist (GLPAG) of matched potency and pharmacokinetics.

This research suggests that combining GLP-1 and Glucagon receptor activation in a single long-acting molecule produces greater weight loss and better lipid profiles than activating the GLP-1 receptor alone. For obese individuals, this dual mechanism leverages both reduced food intake and increased energy expenditure/fatty acid oxidation. While this specific peptide (DualAG) is experimental, the findings support the clinical development of dual agonists (like retatrutide or similar candidates) as potentially more effective than current single-target GLP-1 therapies for obesity.

Adiponectin levels are inversely correlated with visceral adipose tissue mass and obesity, and low levels are associated with insulin resistance, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease, while high levels may have protective anti-atherogenic effects.

Maintaining healthy adiponectin levels, often associated with lower body fat and physical activity, may protect against cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance. Strategies that improve insulin sensitivity may help maintain higher adiponectin levels.

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels are positively correlated with BMI and glycated hemoglobin, and elevated hsCRP (>3 mg/L) is an independent risk factor for the development of diabetic microangiopathy and cardiovascular disease.

Monitoring hsCRP levels can help assess cardiovascular and diabetic risk in obese individuals. Lowering inflammation through weight management and healthy lifestyle choices may reduce hsCRP levels and associated risks.

Dietary leucine supplementation improves muscle protein synthesis in elderly men independently of hyperaminoacidaemia.

Elderly men can potentially improve their muscle protein synthesis by consuming meals supplemented with leucine. This should be done as part of a balanced diet, not just as a standalone supplement. The study used a dose of 0.052 g/kg body weight, spread out over 5 hours. This suggests that incorporating leucine-rich foods or supplements into regular meals might be beneficial for maintaining muscle mass in old age.

Acute intravenous administration of the GLP-1 receptor agonist exenatide reduces brain activation in appetite- and reward-related regions (insula, amygdala, OFC, putamen) in response to food cues in obese and T2DM individuals, leading to reduced food intake, independent of metabolic/hormonal changes.

For obese or T2DM individuals, GLP-1 receptor agonists like exenatide reduce the brain's reward response to food cues, leading to lower food intake. This effect is driven by central nervous system mechanisms, not just metabolic changes or stomach emptying, and is mediated by GLP-1 receptors.

Menopause increases total body fat mass and decreases fat-free mass, leading to a shift toward visceral adiposity, without significantly changing total body weight or BMI.

Do not rely on body weight or BMI to track health during menopause. Expect a shift in body composition: you will likely gain fat (especially visceral) and lose muscle. Prioritize resistance training to preserve lean mass and manage visceral fat, as total weight may remain stable while health risks increase.

Estrogen hormone therapy in postmenopausal women reduces fat mass and improves body composition without significantly changing total body weight or BMI.

If considering hormone therapy for menopause symptoms, do not avoid it due to fear of weight gain. Clinical data shows it does not increase total body weight or BMI and may improve body composition. Discuss benefits for metabolic health with your provider.

Women with PCOS have an increased risk of impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes regardless of age and BMI, necessitating routine glycaemic assessment.

If you have PCOS, you need to get your blood sugar checked regularly, even if you are thin. The condition itself raises your risk for diabetes, independent of your weight. Do not skip these tests because you feel healthy or look fit.

Women with PCOS are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease and mortality, requiring lipid and blood pressure monitoring regardless of age or BMI.

You need to have your blood pressure and cholesterol checked regularly, even if you are young and feel fine. PCOS increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. This is a standard part of managing PCOS, not just for older women.

Skeletal muscle glycogen depletion via exercise or fasting increases insulin sensitivity by enhancing insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and PKB phosphorylation, whereas high glycogen content inhibits glucose disposal via feedback mechanisms.

To improve insulin sensitivity, ensure your muscles are not perpetually full of glycogen. Regular exercise that depletes glycogen (especially high-intensity or prolonged endurance) creates a 'storage space' that allows your body to handle carbohydrates more efficiently afterward. Avoid constant high-carb intake without exercise, as this fills glycogen stores and triggers feedback inhibition that reduces insulin sensitivity.

Regular physical fitness and exercise confer resilience by blunting and optimizing neuroendocrine stress responses (HPA axis and sympathetic nervous system), reducing inflammatory markers, and enhancing neuroplasticity.

Engage in regular physical activity or structured exercise to build resilience against stress and chronic disease. This can be achieved through planned exercise or spontaneous physical activity. The key is consistency and maintaining fitness levels, as withdrawal from exercise can lead to negative mood and increased stress reactivity.

High aerobic fitness blunts the physiological stress response (cortisol, heart rate) to both physical and psychosocial stressors compared to low fitness levels.

Improve your aerobic fitness to reduce your physiological stress response to daily challenges. Training leads to lower cortisol and heart rate responses to stress, indicating better stress tolerance.

Regular exercise promotes an anti-inflammatory state by reducing visceral adipose tissue and releasing anti-inflammatory myokines (e.g., IL-6 from skeletal muscle).

Engage in regular exercise to reduce systemic inflammation. This is achieved through reducing visceral fat and releasing anti-inflammatory myokines from skeletal muscle, which can improve metabolic health and mood.

Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) reliably improves global sexual function (libido, erectile function, sexual satisfaction) in men with functional hypogonadism in the short term.

If you are an older man with confirmed low testosterone and sexual issues (low libido, erectile dysfunction), TRT (specifically starting with transdermal gel) is the recommended treatment to improve sexual function. However, you must be screened for prostate health first. Do not expect TRT to fix weight, diabetes, or bone density issues. If you want children, do not take TRT; ask about gonadotrophin therapy instead.

High dietary calcium intake (approx 1,000 mg/day) reduces adiposity and accelerates fat loss by suppressing 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, which lowers intracellular calcium in adipocytes, thereby inhibiting lipogenesis and stimulating lipolysis.

To support fat loss, aim for approximately 1,000 mg of calcium daily, preferably from dairy sources like yogurt or milk, rather than supplements. This helps regulate hormones that control fat storage and breakdown. If you are restricting calories, this high calcium intake will accelerate fat loss compared to low calcium intake.