Browse the evidence

Consuming non-nutritive sweetened (NNS) beverages as part of a structured behavioral weight loss program leads to significantly greater weight loss and maintenance compared to consuming water, specifically among regular NNS users.

If you are a regular user of diet drinks, you do not need to switch to water to lose weight. In fact, sticking with diet drinks while following a structured weight loss plan may help you lose more weight than switching to water, likely because it satisfies your sweet taste preference without adding calories.

Reducing sodium intake to 2.0 g/day significantly lowers systolic blood pressure in a linear dose-response manner, with greater reductions observed in older adults, hypertensive individuals, and Black populations.

To lower blood pressure, gradually reduce your sodium intake. Aim for a reduction of about 2.3 grams of sodium per day from your current intake. This change is most effective if you are older, have high blood pressure, or are Black. Focus on whole foods and use herbs and spices to maintain flavor.

Sustained lifestyle interventions targeting physical activity and dietary changes significantly reduce cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality in adults, with long-term adherence being critical to maximizing these benefits.

To reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke, focus on making lasting changes to your diet and physical activity levels. While starting these changes is important, sticking with them over the long term is what truly lowers your risk and improves your quality of life.

Achieving significant weight loss (≥10%) in the first year of a lifestyle intervention is a strong predictor of maintaining that loss at 4 years.

Focus on achieving significant weight loss in the first year, as this is the strongest predictor of long-term success. However, even if you don't lose much initially, staying engaged with the program and adhering to behavioral strategies can still lead to positive outcomes.

Higher treatment attendance, greater physical activity, and lower calorie intake are associated with the maintenance of ≥10% weight loss over 4 years.

To maintain weight loss, prioritize regular attendance at counseling sessions, engage in at least 175 minutes of moderate physical activity per week, and maintain a calorie-controlled diet. These behaviors are strongly linked to long-term success.

Caloric balance, rather than macronutrient composition, is the primary determinant of weight loss; all popular diets result in weight loss when caloric intake is reduced.

To lose weight, you must consume fewer calories than you burn. The specific type of diet (low-carb, low-fat, or balanced) matters less than the total calorie reduction. Aim for a daily intake of approximately 1400-1500 calories. While you may lose water weight quickly on low-carb diets, long-term fat loss depends on maintaining a caloric deficit. Focus on sustainable habits rather than rapid, dramatic results.

Mobile interventions (text messages, apps) significantly improve physical activity and reduce adiposity.

Use mobile apps or text message programs to boost your physical activity and manage your weight. These tools are effective and can be integrated into your daily life.

Internet interventions significantly reduce excessive alcohol use.

Use internet-based programs to help you reduce your alcohol consumption. These programs offer personalized feedback and support, which can help you drink less.

Intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) preserves physical health-related quality of life (HRQoL) by slowing the age-related decline in physical functioning compared to standard diabetes support and education (DSE) in overweight/obese individuals with type 2 diabetes.

For those with type 2 diabetes, committing to a structured lifestyle program can help maintain physical function and quality of life over the long term, even if it doesn't drastically reverse age-related decline. The key benefit is slowing the rate of physical deterioration compared to those receiving standard care.

Intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) does not significantly reduce the use of antidepressant medications (ADMs) compared to diabetes support and education (DSE) in overweight/obese individuals with type 2 diabetes.

While ILI reduces the risk of developing new depression symptoms, it does not necessarily lead to a reduction in the use of antidepressant medications for those already taking them. Clinicians should not expect ILI to replace pharmacological treatment for existing depression.

Once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide 2.4 mg significantly improves cardiometabolic risk factors (waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, insulin, and lipids) in adults with overweight or obesity without diabetes compared to placebo.

If you have overweight or obesity without diabetes, once-weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg, combined with lifestyle changes, significantly improves key health markers like blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol compared to placebo. These benefits require continued use, as stopping the medication leads to a reversal of these improvements.

Combining full and partial ROMs in a single training program may promote synergistic effects on muscle growth by targeting different muscle activation patterns.

Consider incorporating both full and partial ROM exercises in your training program to potentially target different muscle activation patterns, though this is a hypothesis rather than a proven fact.

Plyometric training may induce hypertrophy in Type II muscle fibers, but evidence is limited and conflicting regarding fiber-type specificity compared to resistance training.

There is not enough evidence to recommend plyometric training specifically for targeting fast-twitch muscle fibers over slow-twitch ones. Focus on whole-muscle hypertrophy strategies instead.

Combining structured exercise with wearable technology interventions to reduce sedentary behavior and increase non-exercise physical activity (NEPA) is hypothesized to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in older adults more effectively than exercise alone.

If you are an older adult at risk for heart disease, structured exercise is important but may not be enough on its own. Try to use a wearable activity monitor to track your daily movement and consciously break up long periods of sitting. Increasing your 'non-exercise' movement (like standing, walking around the house) can help lower your cardiovascular risk.

Implementing a ketogenic diet (KD) with very-low carbohydrate intake (<50 g/day) significantly reduces fasting insulin levels and promotes substantial weight loss in patients with obesity and insulin resistance who have experienced weight regain after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery.

If you have had weight loss surgery and are regaining weight, or if you are obese with high insulin but normal blood sugar, standard 'calorie counting' may not be enough. Consider a ketogenic diet (very low carb, high healthy fat) under medical supervision to lower insulin levels, which may help shift your body from storing fat to burning it, potentially leading to significant weight loss and reduced inflammation.

Tirzepatide, a dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist, produces dose-dependent weight loss (up to 20.9% with 15 mg weekly dose) and is recommended for patients targeting 15-20% weight loss.

If you need to lose a significant amount of weight (15-20%), ask your doctor about tirzepatide. It is a once-weekly injection that works by mimicking two gut hormones (GIP and GLP-1). Start at a low dose to minimize side effects, and gradually increase it over several months to find the right dose for you. It is more potent than older GLP-1 drugs.

CagriSema (semaglutide + cagrilintide) produces superior weight loss (22.7% at 68 weeks) compared to semaglutide 2.4 mg alone (16.1%) or cagrilintide alone (11.8%).

If you have obesity and need maximum weight loss, ask your doctor about CagriSema. It combines two hormones (GLP-1 and amylin) into one weekly injection. Clinical trials show it can help you lose nearly 23% of your body weight, which is more than semaglutide or tirzepatide alone. It is currently in Phase 3 trials.

A 1-year person-centered and culturally sensitive intervention, including continuous glucose monitoring and extended healthcare professional consultations, improves glycemic control (HbA1c) and diabetes management in non-Western, Arabic-, Turkish-, or Urdu-speaking individuals with Type 2 Diabetes compared to usual care.

For individuals with Type 2 Diabetes from Arabic, Turkish, or Urdu-speaking backgrounds, standard care may not be enough. This protocol suggests seeking a specialized, culturally sensitive program that includes continuous glucose monitoring, extended consultations with the same healthcare team, and education in your native language. This approach aims to improve blood sugar control and overall well-being by addressing language barriers and cultural needs.

Nutritional interventions (dietary patterns, education, or supplementation) improve blood pressure and glycaemic control in adults with hypertension and/or type 2 diabetes in low- and middle-income countries.

This paper is a protocol outlining how researchers will analyze existing studies. It does not provide a specific diet plan for individuals. However, it highlights that dietary changes are a key management tool for hypertension and diabetes, and that these changes should be adapted to local food contexts in low-resource settings.

Cohabiting with a partner receiving tirzepatide pharmacotherapy can induce significant weight loss and metabolic improvement in an untreated spouse through vicarious efficacy driven by shared environmental and behavioral changes.

If you are starting tirzepatide and live with a partner who has metabolic issues, your changes to food shopping and cooking habits may significantly benefit them too. Encourage your partner to monitor their health metrics, as they may see improvements in weight and blood sugar without needing medication themselves. Discuss these changes openly to ensure both partners are comfortable with the household shifts.

Obese adults with obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS) should undergo weight-loss interventions targeting a sustained loss of 25-30% of body weight to achieve resolution of the syndrome, with bariatric surgery being the most effective method for achieving this threshold.

If you have Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome, standard weight loss may not be enough. You need to aim for losing 25-30% of your body weight to potentially cure the condition. Because this is a large amount, you should discuss bariatric surgery with your doctor if you are a candidate, as it is the most likely way to achieve this specific threshold and resolve the breathing failure.

Treatment with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists (exenatide or liraglutide) at clinically relevant doses for at least 20 weeks results in significant weight loss in overweight or obese patients, regardless of type 2 diabetes status.

If you are overweight or obese, GLP-1R agonists like exenatide or liraglutide are proven to help you lose weight, even if you don't have diabetes. You take them by injection (daily or weekly), and while you might feel nauseous at first, this usually passes. The average weight loss is around 3 kg, which is clinically significant. Talk to your doctor about whether these are right for you.

Reducing total dietary fat intake to less than 30% of energy leads to a small but consistent reduction in body weight, BMI, and waist circumference in adults not intentionally trying to lose weight.

If you reduce your total fat intake to 30% or less of your daily calories, you can expect a small but real reduction in body weight (about 1.5 kg) and waist size over time, even if you aren't actively trying to lose weight. This effect is consistent in adults and children, though the magnitude is modest. The key is consistency over months or years, not short-term drastic cuts.

The magnitude of weight loss from reducing fat intake is dose-dependent: greater reductions in fat percentage lead to greater weight loss.

If you want to lose weight by cutting fat, you need to make a substantial cut (more than 5% of your total calories from fat) to see a noticeable difference. Small tweaks to fat intake may not result in weight change. The bigger the cut, the more weight you are likely to lose.