Browse the evidence

Higher habitual levels and increases in plasma phospholipid palmitic acid (16:0), 7-hexadecenoic acid (16:1n-9), and vaccenic acid (18:1n-7) are positively associated with an increased risk of incident heart failure in older adults.

For older adults, maintaining healthy metabolic function is crucial for heart health. While this study doesn't prescribe a specific diet, it highlights that high levels of certain fatty acids (16:0, 16:1n-9, 18:1n-7) in the blood are linked to heart failure risk. These fatty acids are produced by the body (de novo lipogenesis) from excess carbohydrates, sugars, and alcohol, rather than just from eating fat. Therefore, managing carbohydrate and sugar intake may help regulate these fatty acid levels and potentially reduce heart failure risk.

Lorcaserin's high selectivity for the 5-HT2C receptor minimizes the risk of valvulopathy and pulmonary hypertension seen with non-selective serotonergic drugs like fenfluramine.

Lorcaserin is designed to target weight loss pathways specifically, avoiding the heart valve receptors that caused problems with older drugs. Clinical data shows it does not significantly increase the risk of heart valve problems.

Sympathomimetic obesity drugs (phentermine/topiramate, bupropion/naltrexone) increase heart rate and blood pressure, posing a potential cardiovascular risk despite weight loss benefits.

Sympathomimetic weight loss drugs can raise blood pressure and heart rate. If you have hypertension or heart conditions, these drugs may not be suitable, or require close monitoring.

Bariatric surgery (specifically Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy) is superior to behavioral and pharmacological interventions for long-term weight loss maintenance because it alters gut hormones and brain reward circuits, reducing compensatory hunger and metabolic adaptation.

Bariatric surgery is currently the most effective long-term intervention for obesity, largely because it biologically reduces hunger and alters food reward. However, it is not a permanent cure; significant weight regain can still occur. It should be viewed as a tool that facilitates weight loss, but long-term success still requires ongoing behavioral and nutritional support.

SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists reduce major cardiovascular events and improve cardiac structure/function through anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, and metabolic mechanisms, independent of glucose lowering.

If you have T2DM and heart disease or risk factors, ask your doctor about SGLT2 inhibitors or GLP-1 RAs. These drugs do more than lower blood sugar; they actively protect your heart, reduce inflammation, and lower the risk of heart failure and death, regardless of your glucose levels.

SGLT2 inhibitors reduce oxidative stress and inflammation in cardiac tissue by improving nitric oxide bioavailability, stimulating Nrf2/ARE signaling, and suppressing NADPH oxidase.

SGLT2 inhibitors help protect heart cells from damage caused by oxidative stress and inflammation, which contributes to their ability to prevent heart failure.

SGLT2 inhibitors reduce the incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter (AFL) by reducing atrial dilation, intracellular sodium/calcium levels, and epicardial adipose tissue.

Taking SGLT2 inhibitors may lower your risk of developing irregular heartbeats like atrial fibrillation, which is a common complication in diabetes and heart failure.

GLP-1 receptor agonists reduce stroke risk but do not significantly prevent the onset of atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter, and may increase heart rate.

GLP-1 RAs are effective at reducing stroke risk, but unlike SGLT2 inhibitors, they do not appear to prevent atrial fibrillation and may slightly increase heart rate.

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) acts as a specific negative feedback signal that reduces carbohydrate (sweet) preference in response to high sugar intake.

High sugar intake triggers the release of FGF21, a hormone that naturally reduces your desire for sweets. Consistently high sugar intake may blunt this system or require higher thresholds to trigger it. Reducing initial sugar loads may help restore this natural regulatory feedback loop.

GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) induce significant gastrointestinal adverse events (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation) by slowing gastric emptying and increasing gastric accommodation, with incidence rates ranging from 18% to 52% depending on the specific agent and dose.

If you are prescribed a GLP-1 drug like semaglutide or liraglutide, expect a high chance of nausea or vomiting, especially when starting. The paper advises starting at the lowest dose and increasing slowly. Crucially, you must adjust your diet: eat smaller meals, reduce fat, and avoid raw fiber. If you continue to have side effects, ask your doctor about dose de-escalation. Do not assume the sickness is what causes the weight loss; the drug works directly, but the side effects are a common hurdle to manage.

GLP-1 receptor agonists delay gastric emptying and increase gastric accommodation, which contributes to satiety but poses a significant risk of aspiration during perioperative procedures, necessitating specific preoperative management guidelines.

If you are having surgery and take a weekly GLP-1 shot (like Ozempic or Wegovy), tell your surgeon and anesthesiologist. For elective surgery, you may need to stop the drug 4 weeks beforehand. If it's an emergency, they will check your stomach with an ultrasound and may give you a drug (erythromycin) to empty it. This is a new standard of care to prevent choking on stomach contents during anesthesia.

Some GLP-1RAs (e.g., Lixisenatide, Exenatide, oral Semaglutide) show neutral cardiovascular outcomes in patients with Type 2 Diabetes, suggesting that not all GLP-1RAs provide cardiovascular protection.

Not all GLP-1 medications protect the heart. Drugs like Lixisenatide, Exenatide, and oral Semaglutide have shown neutral effects on major cardiovascular events in large studies. If you have heart disease, ask your doctor if your specific GLP-1 medication has proven cardiovascular benefits.

Anti-obesity medications (GLP-1 RAs, MC4R agonists) and bariatric surgery work by improving appetite control and resetting the fat mass set point, rather than just creating a caloric deficit.

Medications like GLP-1 agonists and surgeries like gastric bypass succeed because they fix the broken biological signals in your brain that tell you when to stop eating. They improve appetite control, making it easier to maintain weight loss without constant willpower.

Short-term calorie restriction (12 weeks) does not reverse the accumulation of effector memory T cells in subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) or reduce local inflammatory cytokine levels in obese postmenopausal women, despite inducing weight loss and improving insulin sensitivity.

For obese postmenopausal women, short-term calorie restriction (12 weeks) improves insulin sensitivity but does not reduce inflammation in fat tissue. The immune cells in fat (effector memory T cells) and inflammatory cytokines remain high despite weight loss. This suggests that weight loss alone may not be sufficient to resolve chronic low-grade inflammation in the short term, and longer-term strategies or additional interventions might be needed to target adipose immune cells.

Metformin treatment alters gut microbiota composition (increasing Escherichia coli, decreasing Intestinibacter bartlettii) to enhance the production of short-chain fatty acids (propionate and butyrate) and modulate bile acid pools, which mediates glucose-lowering effects.

If you take metformin, your gut bacteria are actively helping lower your blood sugar by producing beneficial fats (SCFAs) and signaling molecules. However, this same bacterial shift can cause stomach upset for about 30% of users. If you experience GI distress, it may be linked to this mechanism, and discussing management strategies with your provider is important.

Performing resistance exercise during the follicular phase (high estrogen) does not yield greater muscle protein synthesis or myofibrillar protein breakdown compared to the luteal phase (high progesterone) in naturally cycling women.

You do not need to schedule your resistance training around your menstrual cycle to maximize muscle growth. Whether you are in your follicular (high estrogen) or luteal (high progesterone) phase, your muscles respond to resistance exercise similarly in terms of protein synthesis and breakdown. Consistency in your training program is more important than trying to time your workouts with specific hormonal phases.

Integrating multiple computational gene prioritization methods (SMR, FINEMAP, DEPICT, MAGMA, TWAS, MSC, PoPS, nearest gene) identifies 292 high-confidence candidate genes associated with BMI, many of which regulate neuronal body weight control, circadian rhythm, insulin secretion, and glucose homeostasis.

This research does not offer a direct lifestyle intervention but highlights that obesity has strong genetic underpinnings involving brain regulation, insulin, and circadian rhythms. Understanding these specific biological pathways can help explain why weight loss is difficult for some and points toward future targeted therapies (e.g., drugs affecting GIPR or FGFR1) rather than just willpower-based approaches.

Combined pharmacological administration of oxytocin (OT) and a selective CCKAR agonist (A-71263) produces greater weight loss and fat mass reduction than either agent alone in diet-induced obese mice.

Combining oxytocin with a CCK receptor agonist is more effective for weight loss than using either drug alone. This suggests that future obesity treatments might need to target multiple pathways simultaneously to overcome diet-induced resistance.

Central nervous system atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) activity, specifically the PKC-l isoform in POMC neurons, is required to constrain food intake and prevent diet-induced obesity and glucose intolerance.

This research highlights that obesity is not just about calories in vs. calories out, but involves specific brain signaling pathways (like aPKC in POMC neurons) that regulate hunger. Disrupting these pathways can lead to increased food intake and weight gain, even if the diet is high-fat. This suggests that targeting these neural mechanisms could be a potential therapeutic strategy for obesity.

GLP-1RAs exert their therapeutic effects through complex intracellular signaling pathways, specifically activating ERK1/2, AMPK, cAMP, MAPK, and PKC, which regulate insulin secretion, cell proliferation, and inflammation.

The effectiveness of GLP-1 medications is driven by their ability to activate specific cellular pathways (ERK1/2, AMPK, cAMP, MAPK, PKC). These pathways control insulin release, cell growth, and inflammation, which is why these drugs work for both diabetes and potentially other conditions like cancer or cardiovascular disease.

Bariatric surgery reduces the incidence of macro- and micro-vascular complications in obese patients with type 2 diabetes, but it does not reliably reverse established end-stage complications (such as advanced nephropathy or retinopathy) and may not improve survival in patients with advanced comorbidities.

If you have obesity and diabetes with existing vascular issues (like high blood pressure or early kidney changes), surgery can significantly lower your risk of heart attacks, strokes, and blindness. However, if you already have end-stage organ damage (like dialysis-dependent kidney failure), surgery is unlikely to reverse that damage and may carry higher risks. The goal of surgery is prevention of these events, not necessarily curing established end-stage disease.

GLP-1 receptor agonists delay gastric emptying, increasing the risk of pulmonary aspiration during anesthesia, necessitating specific perioperative holding periods or gastric assessment before elective surgery.

If you are taking a GLP-1 weight loss drug (like Ozempic or Wegovy) and need elective surgery, tell your surgeon and anesthesiologist immediately. These drugs slow down your stomach, which can cause dangerous aspiration during anesthesia. You may need to hold your medication for 1-3 weeks before surgery, or your surgery might be postponed until your stomach is empty. Do not skip doses without consulting your care team, as this can affect your blood sugar and weight management.

Insulin resistance in the skeletal muscle vasculature impairs capillary recruitment and nitric oxide bioavailability, which directly limits insulin-stimulated glucose uptake.

If you have insulin resistance, simply exercising may not be enough if your blood vessels aren't delivering insulin to your muscle cells effectively. Focus on strategies that improve vascular health, such as weight loss and specific medications, alongside physical activity, to ensure insulin can reach the muscle to process glucose.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) reduce major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) and all-cause mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes, independent of glycemic control, through anti-inflammatory and plaque-stabilizing mechanisms.

If you have type 2 diabetes and high cardiovascular risk, GLP-1RAs like semaglutide or liraglutide can significantly reduce your risk of heart attack, stroke, and death. This benefit comes from stabilizing plaque and reducing inflammation, not just lowering blood sugar. Discuss these options with your doctor, especially if you have existing heart disease.