Browse the evidence

Daily protein intake of ≥1.2 g/kg/day is likely superior to the standard RDA of 0.8 g/kg/day for supporting muscle mass and strength gains in older adults undergoing resistance training.

Eat at least 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight every day. This is higher than the standard government recommendation and is necessary to build or maintain muscle as you age, especially when you exercise.

Retatrutide, a triple agonist targeting GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon receptors, produces superior mean weight loss (up to 24.2%) and metabolic improvements compared to placebo and existing dual agonists in phase 2 trials for obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Retatrutide is a once-weekly injection that targets three hormones to significantly reduce body weight and improve blood sugar control. In clinical trials, it led to an average 24% weight loss in people with obesity over 48 weeks. Common side effects like nausea are manageable with dose titration. It is currently in phase 3 trials for broader approval.

High-dose GLP-1 receptor agonists (e.g., semaglutide 2.4mg) and dual GLP-1/GIP agonists (e.g., tirzepatide) are effective for treating prediabetes by inducing significant weight loss (15-20%), which reduces insulin resistance and lowers diabetes risk.

If you have prediabetes and struggle to lose weight, high-dose GLP-1 or GLP-1/GIP injections (like semaglutide or tirzepatide) are highly effective. They cause significant weight loss (15-20%), which fixes the underlying insulin resistance and reduces diabetes risk. You likely need to stay on them long-term to keep the weight off.

Lifestyle modification, specifically weight loss of >5-10% and regular physical activity, is a cornerstone for improving liver fat and cardiovascular health in MASLD.

Aim for at least 5% weight loss and 150 minutes of exercise per week. This reduces liver fat. Losing 7-10% or more can further reduce inflammation and fibrosis. This is the foundation of MASLD treatment.

Tirzepatide induces significant weight reduction in individuals with obesity caused by pathogenic MC4R mutations, achieving efficacy comparable to non-carriers.

If you have obesity caused by an MC4R mutation, tirzepatide is a highly effective treatment option. Clinical data shows you will likely lose a significant amount of weight (around 18%) over 72 weeks, similar to people without this genetic mutation. Because lifestyle changes alone are often insufficient for this specific genetic profile, pharmacological intervention with tirzepatide is recommended to manage severe obesity and its complications.

Exercise training (ET), including high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training, improves functional status, exercise capacity, and quality of life in HFpEF patients.

If you have HFpEF, engage in regular exercise training, including high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or moderate-intensity continuous training. This improves your exercise capacity, quality of life, and heart function. It is safe and recommended by guidelines.

Lifestyle interventions, including dietary management (DASH/SDR, Low-Energy Diet) and exercise training, improve clinical outcomes in obese HFpEF patients.

Adopt a heart-healthy lifestyle, including a DASH or low-energy diet and regular exercise training. These interventions are the cornerstone of HFpEF management and can reduce hospital readmissions and improve exercise capacity.

Actively considering the health impacts of food choices during the decision-making process significantly increases the nutritional quality of selected foods, independent of an individual's intertemporal discount rate.

To eat healthier, you must actively engage your attention on health consequences during the moment of choice. Simply having nutrition labels available is not enough; you must consciously choose to consider how the food affects your health. You can facilitate this by using visual cues (like star ratings) or prompts that draw your attention to health impacts, which has been shown to lead to significantly healthier selections.

Carrying the T allele of the GLP1R missense variant rs10305420 (p.Pro7Leu) significantly increases weight loss efficacy in patients treated with GLP-1 receptor agonists, adding approximately 0.76 kg of weight loss per allele copy.

If you are taking a GLP-1 medication like semaglutide or tirzepatide, your genetics play a role in how much weight you lose. Specifically, a common genetic variant (rs10305420) is linked to better weight loss results. While this genetic effect is modest (adding less than 1 kg on average), it is a real biological factor. This suggests that genetic testing could eventually help doctors predict who will respond best to which drug, allowing for more personalized treatment plans rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

Once-weekly efpeglenatide significantly reduces HbA1c and body weight in patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity, with a safety profile characterized by mild-to-moderate gastrointestinal side effects and low hypoglycemia risk.

Efpeglenatide is a once-weekly (or monthly) injection that helps lower blood sugar and lose weight in people with type 2 diabetes and obesity. It is generally well-tolerated, with common side effects like nausea being mild and temporary. It offers a convenient alternative to daily medications and has cardiovascular benefits for high-risk patients.

Cagrilintide, a long-acting amylin analogue, produces dose-dependent weight loss in adults with obesity, with the highest dose (4.5 mg) showing greater weight loss than Liraglutide 3.0 mg.

Cagrilintide is a once-weekly injection that mimics the hormone amylin to reduce appetite and slow digestion. In a 26-week trial, the highest dose (4.5 mg) led to an average 10.8% weight loss, outperforming Liraglutide 3.0 mg. It is currently in Phase 2 development for adults with obesity.

Sustained weight loss of 15% or greater is required to significantly improve or induce remission of Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) and hypertension, whereas a 5-10% loss prevents T2D but may not resolve established disease.

To reverse Type 2 Diabetes or Hypertension, you likely need to lose 15% or more of your body weight. Losing 5-10% helps prevent the disease but may not cure it. Focus on sustainable energy deficits (500-800 kcal/day) rather than quick fixes.

Replacing saturated fats with monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) from nuts (specifically cashews) improves lipid profiles (increases HDL) and reduces blood pressure in type 2 diabetic patients.

Add 30 grams of cashews to your daily diet. This specific amount of MUFA-rich nuts has been shown in clinical trials to improve 'good' cholesterol (HDL) and lower blood pressure in people with type 2 diabetes. It is a simple, effective swap for less healthy fats.

Greater variety of stretching exercises, longer mean duration of single stretching exercises, and increased time under stretching per session, week, and in total are associated with greater skeletal muscle hypertrophy.

To maximize any potential muscle growth from stretching, use multiple different stretching exercises, hold each for longer than 60 seconds, and increase the total time you spend stretching per week.

Orlistat reduces the incidence of type 2 diabetes in individuals with prediabetes or impaired glucose tolerance by approximately 37% over four years compared to placebo when combined with lifestyle changes.

If you are overweight and have prediabetes, adding orlistat (120mg with meals) to your lifestyle changes can significantly lower your risk of developing full-blown type 2 diabetes compared to lifestyle changes alone. Be mindful of your fat intake to minimize gastrointestinal side effects.

Anti-obesity medications (AOMs), particularly GLP-1 and dual GIP/GLP-1 agonists, produce significant weight loss (5-20%+) and should be continued long-term as disease-modifying agents rather than short-term aids.

If you have obesity or overweight with related health issues, talk to your doctor about long-term medication options like GLP-1 agonists. These are not quick fixes but chronic disease treatments. Expect to start with a low dose to minimize stomach issues and increase it slowly. You must combine this with lifestyle changes for the best results, and do not stop the medication once you reach your goal, as stopping often leads to regaining the weight.

Multicomponent behavioral interventions, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Motivational Interviewing (MI), produce 5-10% weight loss and are essential for addressing psychological barriers and sustaining lifestyle changes.

Engage in structured behavioral programs that include self-monitoring, goal setting, and problem-solving. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is particularly effective for those with binge eating, while Motivational Interviewing (MI) helps resolve ambivalence. These interventions typically yield 5-10% weight loss and are most effective when combined with lifestyle changes and, if necessary, medication.

Combining aerobic and resistance exercise yields the best results for weight loss maintenance and metabolic health, with resistance training independently lowering obesity risk.

Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity (like brisk walking) per week, plus 2-3 sessions of resistance training focusing on major muscle groups. For better weight loss maintenance, aim for 200-300 minutes of moderate exercise. Tailor the type of exercise to your preferences and physical limitations to ensure sustainability.

Gut hormone-based pharmacotherapies (GLP-1RAs, amylin analogues, and multi-agonists) produce clinically significant weight loss (≥10-15%) and improve cardiometabolic health, effectively closing the treatment gap between lifestyle interventions and bariatric surgery.

For individuals with obesity who have not achieved sufficient weight loss through lifestyle changes alone, gut hormone-based medications (like semaglutide or tirzepatide) offer a clinically effective treatment option that can produce 10-15% or more weight loss. These treatments work by targeting the body's natural appetite-regulating systems, mimicking the effects of bariatric surgery to a degree, and improving metabolic health. While side effects like nausea are common, they often subside with dose titration, and new oral formulations are emerging to address injection aversion.

Combination therapies targeting multiple gut hormone pathways (e.g., GLP-1 + Amylin, GLP-1 + GIP, GLP-1 + GIP + Glucagon) show superior weight loss efficacy compared to monotherapies, approaching the magnitude of weight loss seen after bariatric surgery.

For patients who do not achieve sufficient weight loss with single-agent GLP-1 therapy, combination treatments (like CagriSema or Tirzepatide) offer a powerful alternative. These drugs target multiple hormonal pathways simultaneously, resulting in greater weight loss (up to 17% or more in trials) than monotherapies alone. This approach narrows the gap between medication and surgery, offering a viable option for those with severe obesity.

Tirzepatide, a GLP1:GIP dual agonist, provides superior glycemic and weight-loss efficacy compared to placebo, achieving >20% body weight loss in 57% of participants at the highest dose over 72 weeks.

Tirzepatide, a dual GLP1:GIP agonist, has demonstrated superior efficacy in Phase 3 trials, achieving over 20% body weight loss in more than half of participants at the highest dose over 72 weeks with minimal side effects. This makes it a highly effective option for managing diabesity compared to placebo.

Higher protein intake (≥25% TDE or ≥1.25 g/kg/day) during energy restriction promotes greater fat loss and fat-free mass preservation compared to standard protein intakes, with modest but clinically relevant long-term weight maintenance benefits.

To maximize fat loss and preserve muscle while dieting, aim for at least 1.25 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily, or roughly 25% of your total calories from protein. This approach helps you feel fuller longer and burns slightly more calories through digestion, leading to better fat loss and muscle retention than standard protein intakes.

Moderate-to-high intensity aerobic exercise (150-420 min/week) produces dose-dependent weight loss (2-7.5 kg), and 200-300 min/week is recommended for weight maintenance, largely by preserving fat-free mass and energy expenditure.

To lose 2-7.5 kg, aim for 150-420 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week. For maintaining weight loss, target 200-300 minutes per week. This helps preserve muscle and energy expenditure, making long-term success more likely.

Combined aerobic and resistance exercise provides superior glycemic control in type 2 diabetes compared to either modality alone.

For best blood sugar control, mix your cardio with strength training. You don't need to do them separately; combining both types of movement is more effective for managing glucose than doing just one.