Browse the evidence

Weight loss of 7-10% through lifestyle interventions (diet and exercise) leads to histological improvement in MAFLD, including reduced steatosis, ballooning, and inflammation.

Lose 7-10% of your body weight through a Mediterranean diet and regular exercise. This amount of weight loss is enough to improve liver health histologically. Even 5% loss helps.

Adherence to the DASH diet lowers systolic blood pressure by 5.5 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by 3 mmHg.

If you have high blood pressure, follow the DASH diet by eating more fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy. This can lower your systolic blood pressure by about 5.5 mmHg and diastolic by 3 mmHg.

Integrating an online weight management program with population health management (PHM) support from nonclinical staff significantly improves patient engagement and weight loss outcomes compared to the online program alone.

If you are using a digital weight loss program, do not rely on it alone. Seek out programs that include human support, such as a coach or health manager, who can check in on your progress, answer questions, and provide accountability. This human element is critical for staying engaged and achieving better weight loss results.

Once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide 2.4 mg significantly reduces ad libitum energy intake, suppresses appetite, and improves control of eating in adults with obesity, leading to clinically meaningful weight loss, without evidence of delayed gastric emptying at steady state.

Take 2.4 mg of subcutaneous semaglutide once weekly. Start with the lowest dose (0.25 mg) and escalate every 4 weeks as directed to minimize side effects. Expect a significant reduction in hunger, food cravings, and overall calorie intake, leading to weight loss without needing to manually restrict calories.

A Very Low-Calorie Ketogenic Diet (VLCKD) protocol, defined as <800 kcal/day with <50g carbohydrates, 1-1.5g protein/kg ideal body weight, and 15-30g fat, produces significant short- and long-term weight loss and superior fat mass reduction compared to standard low-calorie diets.

To use this protocol, you must follow a strict daily limit of under 800 calories with less than 50g of carbs, 15-30g of fat, and 1-1.5g of protein per kg of your ideal body weight. This is typically done for 8-12 weeks using meal replacements and supervised by a doctor. Expect significant weight and fat loss, superior to standard diets, but be prepared for mild, manageable side effects initially.

Exercise training produces significant weight loss (1.5–3.5 kg) and fat loss (1.3–2.6 kg) in adults with overweight or obesity, with no significant difference between aerobic and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) when energy expenditure is equalized.

To lose weight, you need to create a caloric deficit through exercise. Both moderate-intensity continuous training (like brisk walking) and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) work equally well for weight and fat loss, provided you burn the same amount of energy. Choose the intensity that you enjoy and can sustain long-term, as adherence is key.

Exercise training, particularly aerobic and HIIT, leads to significant loss of visceral adipose tissue, which may provide cardiometabolic health benefits.

Exercise helps reduce dangerous visceral fat, which improves heart health. Both aerobic and high-intensity exercises are effective for this.

Resistance training at moderate-to-high intensity is advised to preserve lean body mass during weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity.

If you are dieting to lose weight, include resistance training (weights or bodyweight) at moderate-to-high intensity. This prevents your body from burning muscle for fuel, ensuring you lose fat, not muscle. Aerobic exercise alone is not sufficient for this purpose.

Once-weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg significantly improves control of eating (specifically craving control and craving for savory foods) and sustains these improvements over 104 weeks, facilitating substantial weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity.

If you struggle with food cravings and hunger, especially when trying to lose weight, semaglutide 2.4 mg can help. It improves your ability to control what and how much you eat, particularly cravings for savory foods, and this effect lasts for at least two years. This helps you lose more weight and keep it off compared to lifestyle changes alone.

Twelve weeks of either aerobic or strength training (3 sessions/week, 60-90 mins) significantly reduces body weight and BMI in overweight/obese young adults without dietary intervention.

If you are overweight or obese and under 25, committing to 3 hours of exercise per week (either cardio or weights) for 12 weeks will significantly reduce your weight and BMI, even if you don't change your diet. Supervision and progressive intensity help maintain adherence.

Aerobic training is superior to strength training for reducing total body fat mass and body fat percentage in overweight/obese young adults.

If your primary goal is to lose body fat (not just weight), prioritize aerobic exercise (walking, cycling, running) over strength training. While both help, aerobic exercise resulted in significantly greater fat loss in this study.

Semaglutide (GLP-1 receptor agonist) significantly reduces body weight, BMI, and waist circumference in overweight or obese adults, with or without type 2 diabetes, compared to placebo or other glucose-lowering medications.

If you are overweight or obese (BMI ≥24), semaglutide is a highly effective medical intervention for weight loss, working for both diabetic and non-diabetic individuals. It significantly reduces body weight, BMI, and waist circumference compared to placebo. While it can cause gastrointestinal side effects like nausea, serious adverse events are not more common than with a placebo. Be aware that stopping the medication may lead to weight regain, so long-term management and lifestyle changes are crucial.

Semaglutide increases the proportion of patients achieving significant weight loss thresholds (>5%, >10%, >15%, and >20%) compared to control groups.

Semaglutide significantly increases the likelihood of achieving major weight loss milestones (5%, 10%, 15%, 20%) compared to placebo or other treatments.

Cagrilintide-Semaglutide (CagriSema) produces superior weight loss and metabolic improvements compared to monotherapies and placebo in adults with overweight or obesity, with or without type 2 diabetes.

CagriSema is a potent, non-surgical weight loss option that significantly outperforms current GLP-1 monotherapies. It requires weekly (implied) injections and lifestyle changes. Expect transient GI side effects that usually subside. It is suitable for those with BMI ≥30 (or ≥27 with comorbidities), including those with T2D.

Increasing physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) over time significantly reduces all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality in middle-aged and older adults, regardless of their baseline activity levels or existing medical history.

If you are currently inactive, gradually increasing your physical activity over time—aiming to reach at least 150 minutes of moderate activity per week—will significantly lower your risk of dying from any cause, heart disease, or cancer. This benefit applies even if you have existing health conditions like heart disease or cancer, and it does not matter how inactive you were in the past; the act of increasing your activity is what drives the longevity gain.

Maintaining or increasing physical activity to meet or exceed WHO minimum guidelines (150 min/week) at the population level could prevent 46% of deaths associated with physical inactivity.

To maximize your population-level impact and personal longevity, aim to consistently meet the standard recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week. You do not need to exceed this significantly to prevent nearly half of the deaths linked to inactivity; consistency at this level is highly effective.

A whole food plant-based (WFPB) diet, specifically low in fat (7-15% energy) and ad libitum (no calorie restriction), produces significant weight loss and BMI reduction in adults with obesity, type 2 diabetes, or cardiovascular risk factors, superior to standard care alone.

Adopt a whole food, plant-based diet that is low in fat (minimize oils, nuts, avocados) and high in starches (potatoes, bread, pasta, rice) and vegetables. Do not count calories; eat until you are full. Take a 50 mcg daily Vitamin B12 supplement. This approach has been shown to produce significant weight loss and improve metabolic markers in people with obesity and related conditions, without needing to restrict total energy intake or exercise.

High consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF), defined as >30.8% of total daily energy intake, significantly increases the risk of large weight gain (≥1.68 kg/year) and large waist circumference gain (≥2.42 cm/year) compared to low consumption (<17.8% of energy).

To minimize weight and waist gain, limit ultra-processed foods to less than 17.8% of your daily energy intake. Focus on minimally processed foods, as UPFs are designed to be overconsumed due to low satiety and high energy density, regardless of sugar content.

High consumption of ultra-processed foods increases the risk of incident overweight and obesity (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m²) in individuals who are not overweight at baseline, with a 20% greater risk observed in the highest consumption quartile.

If you are currently normal weight, limiting UPF intake is crucial to prevent future weight gain. High UPF consumption increases your risk of becoming overweight by 20% compared to low consumption.

Higher consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with greater BMI, waist circumference, and odds of obesity in adults, with a dose-response relationship observed across both sexes.

To reduce obesity risk, prioritize unprocessed or minimally processed foods and actively reduce the proportion of ultra-processed foods in your diet. The study shows a clear dose-response: as UPF intake increases, BMI and waist circumference increase significantly. This is not just about calories; the nature of these foods promotes overconsumption and metabolic disruption.

Intentional weight loss of approximately 13% significantly reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and asthma compared to maintaining a stable higher BMI.

If you have obesity (BMI 25-50) and lose about 13% of your body weight intentionally, you significantly lower your risk of type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and asthma. This benefit is greater than just having a lower BMI without losing weight, suggesting metabolic improvements beyond just mass reduction. Focus on sustainable weight loss strategies like dietary changes and physical activity, as even partial maintenance of loss yields substantial health protection.

Both intermittent calorie restriction (5:2 diet) and low-carb high-fat (LCHF) diets significantly reduce hepatic steatosis in NAFLD patients compared to standard of care, with no significant difference in liver fat reduction between the two specific diets.

To reduce fatty liver, you need to lose weight. You can do this by restricting calories on 2 days a week (5:2 diet) or by eating low-carb/high-fat (LCHF). Both methods work equally well for reducing liver fat if you maintain a calorie deficit. The 5:2 diet may be easier to stick with and has better effects on cholesterol, while LCHF might raise LDL slightly. Choose the one that fits your lifestyle and preferences.

Intermittent fasting significantly reduces BMI and improves glucose metabolism (fasting glucose and HOMA-IR) compared to non-fasting controls in adults without diabetes.

If you are an adult without diabetes, trying intermittent fasting (like time-restricted feeding or alternate-day fasting) for at least 4 weeks can help lower your BMI and improve how your body handles blood sugar, even if you don't lose a massive amount of weight. It may be easier to stick to than daily calorie restriction.

Work-equivalent High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training (MICT) produce comparable reductions in abdominal visceral fat area (AVFA) and total fat mass in obese young women over 12 weeks.

If you are obese and want to lose visceral fat, you can choose either High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) or Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training (MICT). The key is to match the total work done (energy expended). If you choose HIIT, you will finish your workout faster, but you will lose the same amount of belly fat as if you exercised for a longer duration at a moderate pace. Ensure you maintain your diet and do not increase your overall daily activity outside of these workouts.