Browse the evidence

Interventions using presumed healthy diets result in reductions of almost all investigated inflammatory biomarkers.

Adopting a healthy diet, as defined by a priori scores like the Mediterranean Diet Score or Healthy Eating Index, has been shown in intervention studies to reduce inflammatory biomarkers. This suggests that dietary changes can directly lower inflammation.

Resistance training improves muscular strength, endurance, body composition, and glucose tolerance in individuals with type 2 diabetes, and should be included at least 2 days per week.

Add resistance training to your routine at least two days a week. Perform 8-10 exercises targeting major muscle groups, doing one set of 10-15 repetitions until you are near fatigue. This improves muscle strength, body composition, and glucose tolerance. If you have eye or heart complications, consult your doctor and modify the intensity (e.g., avoid heavy straining or holding your breath).

High-intensity counseling and behavioral interventions produce modest but sustained weight loss (3-5 kg) in adults, with multi-component approaches (diet, exercise, behavioral therapy) being most effective.

To lose weight effectively, you need a structured program that includes diet, exercise, and behavioral strategies, delivered with frequent contact (more than monthly) for at least the first few months. This approach typically results in a modest but sustained loss of 3-5 kg.

Consuming 0.25-0.5% of energy as EPA and DHA (approx. 500-1000 mg/day) reduces cardiovascular disease risk, primarily by lowering triglycerides and acting as antiarrhythmic agents.

Aim for 500-1000 mg of combined EPA and DHA daily, preferably from fatty fish or a high-quality supplement. This dose is sufficient to lower triglycerides and reduce the risk of heart attacks and sudden cardiac death. Do not rely solely on plant sources like flaxseed, as they are less effective for these specific outcomes.

Counselling sedentary adults on physical activity in general practice, supported by ongoing telephone contact, significantly increases leisure time physical activity and improves quality of life over 12 months.

If you are sedentary, ask your doctor for a 'green prescription' for physical activity. This involves a brief discussion about setting goals, followed by support calls from an exercise specialist. This approach has been shown to significantly increase your weekly exercise time and improve your overall quality of life over a year.

Combined calcium and vitamin D supplementation significantly reduces the risk of total fractures (by 15%) and hip fractures (by 30%) in middle-aged to older adults.

If you are middle-aged or older, taking a daily supplement containing calcium (500-1200mg) and Vitamin D (400-800 IU) can significantly lower your risk of breaking bones, especially hip fractures. This is particularly important if you live in an institution or are at higher risk for falls.

Strength training (30 minutes, 3 times per week for 6 weeks) significantly increases insulin-mediated glucose uptake and GLUT4 content in skeletal muscle of patients with type 2 diabetes, independent of muscle mass increases.

If you have type 2 diabetes, you do not need to spend hours in the gym to improve your insulin sensitivity. A short, focused strength training session (30 minutes) three times a week is sufficient to increase glucose uptake in your muscles. Focus on compound movements like leg presses and knee extensions, progressively increasing the weight so that the last few reps are challenging. This low time commitment makes it easier to adhere to long-term.

Regular participation in moderate-intensity physical activity (e.g., walking, gardening) for at least 30 minutes per day on most days provides significant health benefits and chronic disease protection in older adults, independent of improvements in maximal aerobic fitness.

For older adults, aim for 30 minutes of moderate activity on most days. This can be broken into shorter bouts (e.g., 10 minutes) and includes activities like brisk walking, gardening, or climbing stairs. You do not need to reach exhaustion or improve your maximum fitness to gain significant protection against chronic disease and mortality.

Weight loss, achieved through either bariatric surgery or behavioral diet/exercise programs, significantly reduces chronic pain intensity and disability in obese individuals.

If you are obese and have chronic pain, losing weight is one of the most effective ways to reduce your pain. This can be done through surgery or diet/exercise programs. While surgery often leads to greater pain relief, behavioral programs also help. The hardest part is keeping the weight off, so focus on building sustainable habits for eating and moving.

Physical activity follows a dose-response relationship where even modest levels of activity are superior to being sedentary, reducing all-cause mortality risk.

Do not wait for the 'perfect' workout. Any amount of physical activity, even modest, reduces your risk of death compared to being sedentary. Start small.

Strength training provides specific health benefits, including improved balance, reduced fall risk, and positive impacts on endurance, previously associated primarily with aerobic exercise.

Include strength training in your routine. It improves balance, reduces fall risk, and can boost endurance, offering benefits beyond just muscle size.

Regular physical activity reduces the risk of developing both type 2 diabetes and hypertension, with effects observed across various population cohorts and independent of genetic susceptibility factors like the FTO gene.

Make physical activity a non-negotiable part of your routine to protect against diabetes and high blood pressure. You don't need to be an elite athlete; studies show that moderate-to-vigorous leisure-time activity significantly lowers your risk. If you have a family history of obesity or diabetes, staying active is even more critical as it can counteract genetic risks. Focus on consistency—walking, cycling, or other forms of exercise—rather than intensity, as even small increments in activity provide measurable benefits.

Weight reduction effectively lowers blood pressure in obese hypertensive individuals, improving prognosis and potentially normalizing blood pressure levels.

Losing weight is one of the most effective ways to lower high blood pressure. Clinical data shows that losing significant weight (e.g., 30+ lbs) can drop systolic pressure by 30+ mmHg. The key is not just losing the weight, but keeping it off, as regaining weight causes blood pressure to rise again.

Computer-tailored health education interventions are effective for promoting dietary changes, specifically reducing fat intake and increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, with effects generally observed in the short to medium term.

To improve your diet, look for programs that offer personalized feedback based on your specific habits rather than generic advice. Computer-tailored programs that track your fat intake or fruit/vegetable consumption and provide individualized goals have shown consistent, albeit small, positive effects. These programs often use behavioral theories to help you set realistic goals and track your progress, making them more effective than standard pamphlets or lectures.

Increasing dietary protein to 20-30% of energy intake (relative high-protein diet) increases satiety and energy expenditure, thereby facilitating weight loss and maintenance without adverse effects on bone health in healthy adults.

To lose weight or maintain loss, aim for 20-30% of your daily calories from protein. This isn't just about building muscle; it keeps you fuller longer and burns slightly more calories through digestion. You don't need to fear bone loss; this level of protein is safe for healthy adults and may actually protect bones. Focus on getting enough total protein rather than obsessing over 'complete' vs 'incomplete' sources, though varying sources is beneficial.

High-protein diets increase energy expenditure (thermogenesis) primarily through the ATP costs of protein synthesis, urea synthesis, and gluconeogenesis, with complete proteins potentially inducing a larger increase than lower-quality proteins.

Eating more protein slightly boosts your metabolism because your body uses more energy to process it. This effect is real but modest compared to the benefit of feeling fuller. Don't rely on this 'thermic effect' alone for weight loss, but view it as a helpful bonus.

High body mass index (BMI ≥ 30) and abdominal obesity are among the top five leading risk factors for global disease burden and mortality, driving the metabolic syndrome which significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

Recognize that obesity is a major public health driver, not just a personal issue. Focus on systemic changes like policy shifts and environmental modifications rather than blaming individuals. For personal health, understand that high BMI is a top risk factor for heart disease and diabetes, so weight management is critical for long-term survival.

Supplementation with 150 mg/day of quercetin for 6 weeks significantly reduces systolic blood pressure (SBP) in overweight or obese adults with high cardiovascular disease risk traits, with the effect being most pronounced in younger adults (25-50 years) and those with (pre-)hypertension.

If you are overweight or obese and have risk factors for heart disease (like high blood pressure or cholesterol), taking 150mg of quercetin daily for 6 weeks may help lower your systolic blood pressure by a few mmHg, especially if you are under 50. This is not a substitute for medication or lifestyle changes, but it may offer a small additional benefit. Note that it did not significantly change other lipid markers or inflammation in this group.

Both aerobic and strengthening exercises reduce pain and improve function in patients with knee osteoarthritis, with strong evidence for knee OA but limited evidence for hip OA.

If you have knee osteoarthritis, both aerobic exercise (like walking) and strengthening exercises are proven to reduce pain and improve function. Start with low-impact activities and focus on strengthening the muscles around the joint. While evidence for hip OA is less robust, exercise is generally considered safe with few contraindications.

Maintaining or increasing muscle mass and strength is a primary strategy for promoting healthy aging and reducing mortality risk in older adults, potentially mitigating the risks associated with obesity.

As you age, prioritize building and keeping muscle over just losing weight. Engage in regular resistance training and ensure adequate protein intake. This preserves your metabolic health, reduces cardiovascular risk, and is more important for longevity than simply trying to lower your BMI.

Intensive, multicomponent behavioral interventions for adults with obesity (BMI ≥30) produce moderate net benefits by achieving clinically significant weight loss and reducing type 2 diabetes incidence, with small to no harms.

If you have a BMI of 30 or higher, ask your doctor for a referral to an intensive behavioral weight loss program. These programs typically involve at least 12 sessions in the first year and focus on diet, exercise, and self-monitoring. While the average weight loss is modest (around 2.4 kg or 5.3 lbs), these interventions significantly reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and have very few side effects.

Aerobic exercise, dynamic resistance exercise, and isometric handgrip exercise have relatively strong supporting evidence for lowering blood pressure, with aerobic exercise receiving the highest recommendation (Class I).

Aerobic exercise is the most strongly recommended exercise type for lowering blood pressure (Class I). Dynamic resistance and isometric handgrip exercises also have good evidence (Class IIA and IIB, respectively). Incorporating these exercises into your routine is a high-priority strategy for managing blood pressure.

Higher dietary adherence significantly accelerates weight loss (reduces days to target BMI), whereas greater severity of caloric restriction inversely reduces dietary adherence.

To lose weight faster, focus on sticking to your diet rather than restricting calories as severely as possible. The study proves that higher adherence leads to faster results, and severe restriction (like 800 kcal) often causes people to give up or eat more than expected, slowing progress. Aim for a moderate, sustainable deficit based on your energy needs rather than a generic extreme low-calorie plan.

Resistance training preserves fat-free mass during weight loss, whereas diet-only and endurance training result in significant loss of fat-free mass, even when dietary adherence is similar.

If you are losing weight, include resistance training to protect your muscle. This study shows that dieting with only cardio or no exercise leads to significant muscle loss, while resistance training helps preserve it. This means you look better and maintain your metabolism better by lifting weights during your diet.