Browse the evidence

Capsaicin or capsiate supplementation does not significantly improve aerobic endurance performance (time-trials or time-to-exhaustion) in healthy adults.

Do not rely on capsaicin or capsiate to improve your running or cycling times. The evidence shows no benefit for aerobic endurance, regardless of whether you do a time trial or exercise until exhaustion.

BMI is an inadequate and potentially harmful sole metric for assessing obesity severity and treatment response.

Do not rely on BMI alone. Your health is determined by your metabolic markers and fat distribution, not just your weight. Seek a comprehensive assessment that looks at your overall health risks.

Among adults with diabetes, higher BMI (overweight and obese categories) is not associated with increased all-cause mortality compared to normal weight, contradicting the U-shaped mortality curve observed in the general population.

For people with diabetes, maintaining a 'normal' BMI (18.5-24.9) does not necessarily confer a mortality advantage over being overweight or obese, based on this large US study. However, this does not mean obesity is 'healthy.' It suggests that other factors like glycemic control (HbA1c), blood pressure, and smoking status are critical. Patients should focus on overall metabolic health rather than just weight loss, especially if they have been diagnosed with diabetes for a while.

GLP-1 medicines for obesity are predominantly tested in white/Caucasian populations (79%) with significant under-representation of non-white, Black, Asian, and Indigenous groups compared to their prevalence in multiethnic national populations.

Current GLP-1 obesity trials heavily feature white participants (79%). If you belong to a racial or ethnic minority, be aware that the standard dosing and efficacy data may not fully reflect your specific physiological response or risk profile. Advocating for or seeking out diverse clinical data is important for personalized care.

GLP-1 obesity trials are geographically concentrated in high-income countries (84.2% of sites), contrasting with the global prevalence of obesity which is highest in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Most GLP-1 trials were conducted in high-income countries, yet most people with obesity live in low- and middle-income countries. This geographic gap means that treatment guidelines and availability may not reflect the needs of the majority of the global population.

Lifelong endurance training preserves skeletal muscle oxidative capacity and capillarization in men aged 82-92, whereas physical function level does not correlate with these morphological markers.

For men in their 80s, maintaining a history of endurance training is associated with better muscle blood supply and energy production than simply being strong. While you cannot change your past, the data suggests that consistent aerobic activity preserves muscle quality better than inactivity, regardless of current strength levels.

Endurance training does not preserve satellite cell numbers or markers of muscle regeneration/denervation in very old men compared to sedentary peers.

Do not expect exercise to restore youthful muscle repair capabilities (satellite cells) in your 80s. While training improves blood flow and energy use, the cellular machinery for regeneration appears to decline with age regardless of activity level.

Current randomized controlled trials of nutrient-stimulated hormone-based therapies (NuSHs) for obesity predominantly fail to assess nutritional and functional outcomes, focusing almost exclusively on body weight.

If you are participating in or designing a NuSH trial, you must include nutritional and functional assessments (body composition, muscle strength, bone health) alongside weight. Relying solely on weight masks potential risks like sarcopenia and bone loss.

Obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) significantly increases annual health care resource utilization (HCRU) and causes substantial premature mortality, resulting in billions of pounds in lifetime economic loss and quality-adjusted life year (QALY) deficits.

Obesity imposes a massive financial and health burden on society, costing billions in healthcare resources and causing significant premature death. While losing weight reduces annual healthcare costs, the benefit is largely negated by the increased life expectancy of formerly obese individuals, meaning the total lifetime cost remains high. Public health policy must account for this lifetime cost, not just short-term annual savings.

Under volume-matched conditions, increasing resistance training frequency from two to four sessions per week does not result in greater maximal strength gains in trained men.

If you are a trained lifter, you do not need to train every muscle group 4 times a week to maximize strength. Training 2 times per week is equally effective for strength gains as training 4 times per week, provided you perform the same total number of sets and intensity. You can choose the frequency that best fits your schedule and recovery capacity without sacrificing strength gains.

Joining US Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) causes a statistically significant increase in the per capita sales of ultra-processed foods, processed culinary ingredients, and infant formula.

If you are involved in policy or public health advocacy, recognize that Free Trade Agreements with the US are a key driver of increased ultra-processed food and infant formula sales in partner countries. To protect public health, advocate for health exemptions in trade agreements, similar to tobacco carve-outs, to allow governments to regulate or tax these products without fear of legal challenges from corporations.

Under volume-matched conditions, increasing resistance exercise training frequency from once per week to five times per week does not increase daily myofibrillar protein synthesis rates in young men.

If you are trying to build muscle, you do not need to train each muscle group every day. As long as you are doing the same total amount of work (volume) and lifting with sufficient intensity, training a muscle once a week will build muscle just as effectively as training it five times a week. Focus on getting your total reps and sets in, rather than worrying about frequency.

Vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) induces durable metabolic benefits and weight loss in nonhuman primates that are independent of caloric intake, mediated by early increases in bile acids and short-chain fatty acids, reduced visceral adipose tissue inflammation, and a polarization of immune cells toward regulatory phenotypes.

Vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) is a highly effective intervention for obesity that works through complex biological mechanisms beyond simple stomach size reduction. It triggers early increases in beneficial metabolites (bile acids, short-chain fatty acids) and shifts the immune system in fat tissue to reduce inflammation and improve insulin sensitivity. These changes occur even if caloric intake remains the same, indicating that VSG fundamentally alters how the body regulates energy and metabolism. For patients, this means VSG offers durable metabolic benefits, including improved glucose control and reduced visceral fat inflammation, which are critical for long-term health independent of weight loss alone.

Males in the US have consistently higher diabetes incidence and prevalence than females across all age groups, with a significant disparity that becomes more pronounced in older cohorts.

Men in the US are diagnosed with diabetes more often than women, and this gap widens with age. This may be partly due to biological factors and partly due to less frequent healthcare engagement. Men should prioritize regular screening and not delay care due to cultural norms.

High consumption of artificially-sweetened beverages (ASBs) is not significantly associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk in physically active individuals.

If you are physically active, drinking two or more artificially-sweetened beverages a day does not appear to increase your cardiovascular disease risk in this study. However, this does not mean they are 'healthy,' and they should not be relied upon as a primary health strategy.

Lower drug prices for semaglutide and tirzepatide could significantly improve their cost-effectiveness, potentially making them competitive with surgical and behavioral interventions.

If drug prices for semaglutide and tirzepatide were reduced, these medications could become cost-effective options for managing class III obesity, potentially offering a non-surgical alternative.

Spinach thylakoid supplementation does not significantly improve renal function markers (urea, creatinine, total protein) in obese PCOS women compared to placebo, despite improvements in other metabolic indices.

Do not take spinach thylakoid extract expecting it to improve kidney function. While it helps with metabolic markers, this study showed no benefit for renal markers like urea or creatinine in obese PCOS women.

The lack of a unified definition for resistance exercise (RE) in scientific literature leads to heterogeneous inclusion criteria in systematic reviews, which obscures the true magnitude of effects and impairs the development of evidence-based guidelines.

When evaluating resistance training advice or research, check if the definition of 'resistance' is explicit. If a study or program mixes bodyweight exercises, plyometrics, and weighted lifting without distinguishing them, the results may be less precise. For optimal strength or hypertrophy, ensure the training modality matches your specific goal (e.g., traditional strength vs. plyometrics) rather than assuming all 'resistance' is equal.

Performing 1 or 2 sets of 3-4 repetitions at 55-75% of 10RM as a specific warm-up provides no performance benefit over no warm-up for resistance-trained individuals performing multiple sets to failure at ~10RM loads.

If you are training with moderate weights (around 10 reps max) and doing multiple sets to failure, you likely do not need a specific warm-up. Skipping it saves 2-5 minutes per exercise without hurting your performance. However, if you are lifting very heavy (1-3RM) or are concerned about injury, you may still want to warm up. Listen to your body, but don't feel obligated to warm up if it's just for performance gains at moderate loads.

Training at longer mean muscle lengths does not produce greater regional muscle hypertrophy compared to shorter mean muscle lengths when using typical contrasts in resistance training.

You do not need to train through a full range of motion to maximize muscle growth. Partial reps performed at long muscle lengths (lengthened partials) are just as effective as full reps for hypertrophy. Focus on consistency and volume rather than forcing full depth if it causes joint pain or technical breakdown.

Approximately 10% of the U.S. population consumes more than 5000 mg of sodium per day, which is more than twice the recommended limit of 2300 mg/day, with extreme intake levels showing no meaningful decline between 2003 and 2018.

Check your sodium intake if you are in the top 10% of consumers. If you are eating more than 5000mg daily, you are consuming more than double the recommended limit. This level of intake is associated with higher cardiovascular risk and is not declining in the population, suggesting a need for targeted reduction strategies.

Sodium intake among boys in the U.S. shows an alarming accelerating increase over time, whereas girls show a steady decline, indicating a diverging gender trend in extreme sodium consumption.

Parents of boys should be particularly vigilant about sodium intake, as trends show it is accelerating in this group. Focus on reducing processed foods and restaurant meals, which are the main sources of sodium.

Current sodium reduction efforts in the U.S. are insufficient to meet the WHO's global target of a 30% sodium reduction by 2030, as extreme intake levels remain high and show no meaningful decline.

Current public health strategies are not working to reduce extreme sodium intake. More aggressive interventions are needed to meet global health targets.

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) alone does not significantly reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

If you have sleep apnea, using CPAP is important for your breathing and sleep quality, but it is not enough to protect your heart on its own. You must actively manage other risk factors like weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol through lifestyle changes and medical management.