Browse the evidence

Brief high-intensity exercise (HIE) significantly improves blood glucose regulation and insulin sensitivity in both diabetic and non-diabetic individuals, with effects persisting for 1 to 3 days post-exercise.

If you struggle to find time for exercise, try brief high-intensity intervals. You don't need to exercise for hours. Just 2.5 to 15 minutes of intense effort (like sprinting or high-resistance cycling) spread over a few days a week can significantly improve your blood sugar control and insulin sensitivity for up to 3 days after each session. Start with less intense intervals if 'all out' sprints feel too difficult.

Ingesting 5 mg caffeine per kg body weight via coffee one hour before endurance exercise improves time trial performance to the same extent as ingesting the same dose of pure anhydrous caffeine.

If you consume coffee before endurance exercise, ensure you get approximately 5 mg of caffeine per kg of body weight about one hour before starting. This amount provides a performance boost comparable to taking pure caffeine supplements, without the need for capsules.

High levels of physical activity preserve mitochondrial capacity and exercise efficiency in older adults, effectively negating the negative impacts of chronological aging on these metrics.

If you are an older adult, maintaining a high level of physical activity, particularly endurance exercise, is crucial for preserving mitochondrial health. This preservation directly supports better muscle quality, exercise efficiency, and physical performance, effectively counteracting many negative effects typically associated with aging. Focus on staying active rather than accepting decline as inevitable.

Personalized nutrition recommendations must be derived from validated models and algorithms that demonstrate acceptable predictive performance on external populations.

If you use an app or service that gives you diet advice based on algorithms, check if they validate their models on diverse groups of people. This ensures the advice is likely to be accurate for you.

A web-based behavioral weight management program (POWeR+) combined with brief remote nurse support (emails/phone calls) produces clinically significant weight loss and maintenance in primary care patients, achieving results comparable to intensive face-to-face interventions without increasing health service costs.

Use a structured web-based weight management program that teaches behavioral skills and allows you to choose your diet type. Supplement this with brief, remote check-ins (emails or short phone calls) from a nurse or health coach. This approach is effective for losing and maintaining weight, costs the same as standard care, and is less burdensome than frequent in-person visits.

An estimated average protein requirement of 0.66 g/kg body weight per day of good-quality protein is probable for healthy adults, with a recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of 0.83 g/kg/day established via nitrogen balance studies.

For most healthy adults, aiming for 0.83 grams of high-quality protein per kilogram of body weight daily is sufficient to meet nutritional requirements. You do not need to consume excessive amounts of protein for basic health maintenance.

Empagliflozin (10 mg/day) leads to significant reductions in body weight and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) area in patients with T2DM and NAFLD, whereas pioglitazone increases these metrics.

Empagliflozin (10 mg daily) not only helps control blood sugar but also significantly reduces body weight and visceral fat in patients with Type 2 Diabetes and fatty liver disease. This is in contrast to pioglitazone, which tends to increase weight and fat. This weight loss benefit supports liver health improvement.

High-intensity resistance training (above 60% 1RM) reverses muscle atrophy and functional decline in frail, institutionalized elderly individuals (ages 87-96).

If you are an elderly individual, especially if you live in a care facility or feel frail, high-intensity resistance training (lifting weights at 60-100% of your maximum capacity) can significantly increase your muscle strength and size, even in your 90s. This leads to better functional status and independence. You do not need to be young or fit to start; the key is the intensity of the stimulus, not your current fitness level.

High-intensity resistance training increases energy requirements and resting metabolic rate in older adults, facilitating body fat loss and maintenance of metabolically active tissue.

For older adults looking to manage body fat, resistance training is effective because it increases your resting metabolic rate and the energy you burn during exercise. This means you can eat more (about 15% more in the study) while maintaining your weight, making it easier to sustain a healthy diet without feeling deprived.

High-intensity resistance training improves bone mineral density (BMD) at the femoral neck and lumbar spine in post-menopausal women, reducing osteoporotic fracture risk.

Post-menopausal women can protect their bone density by engaging in high-intensity resistance training twice a week. This not only helps maintain bone mineral density at key sites like the spine and hip but also improves balance and strength, which are crucial for preventing falls and fractures.

A multi-component workplace intervention targeting sitting time reduction through environmental modification (sit-stand workstations) and behavioral coaching significantly reduces workplace sitting time and prolonged sitting bouts in office workers.

To reduce sitting time, use a sit-stand workstation and aim to interrupt prolonged sitting every 30 minutes. Combine this with organizational support (like management encouragement) and personal goal-setting to maintain the habit. Monitor your posture and switch between sitting and standing to avoid discomfort.

Lifestyle modifications, specifically diet, physical exercise, and weight loss, are the primary effective therapeutic interventions for Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and Metabolic Syndrome (MS), as they directly improve insulin resistance and histological liver outcomes.

To treat fatty liver, you must change your lifestyle. There are no approved drugs that work as well as losing weight and moving more. Aim for a 7-10% reduction in body weight through a healthy diet (like the Mediterranean diet) and regular physical activity. This improves insulin resistance and reduces liver fat and inflammation.

Vitamin E is recommended for patients with NASH and advanced fibrosis who do not have diabetes, and pioglitazone is recommended for patients with NASH and diabetes.

If you have NASH with advanced fibrosis and no diabetes, ask your doctor about Vitamin E. If you have NASH and diabetes, ask about Pioglitazone. These are guideline-recommended options to manage the disease.

Interrupting prolonged sitting with frequent stand-up transitions significantly improves cardio-metabolic biomarkers (BMI, waist circumference, HDL, triglycerides, and glucose) compared to accumulating the same total sitting time in long, uninterrupted bouts.

If you must sit, do not sit for more than 30 minutes at a time. Stand up and move briefly (sit-stand transitions) as often as possible. This pattern of interrupting sitting is more beneficial for your waistline, cholesterol, and blood sugar than simply having the same total amount of sitting time but doing it in long, uninterrupted blocks.

Physical activity interventions, particularly those combining resistance and balance training, significantly improve physical performance outcomes (gait speed, strength, mobility) in pre-frail and frail older adults.

Engage in supervised physical activity, specifically focusing on resistance and balance exercises. This approach has been shown to significantly improve gait speed, strength, and mobility in pre-frail and frail older adults. Supervision is key to ensuring safety and adherence, which are critical for success.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists (exenatide and liraglutide) produce statistically significant weight loss in overweight or obese patients with type 2 diabetes compared to placebo, with no significant difference in efficacy between the different GLP-1 agonists or dosages.

If you have Type 2 Diabetes and are overweight, GLP-1 receptor agonist medications (like Exenatide or Liraglutide) are clinically proven to help you lose weight compared to a placebo. The amount of weight loss is modest (around 1-1.6 kg over 6 months) but consistent across different types of these drugs. This is significant because even small weight losses can improve survival and health outcomes in diabetes. These medications are injectable and may cause temporary stomach issues, but they are more effective for weight loss than many other common diabetes drugs that cause weight gain.

Incorporating 1-2 meal replacements per day into a traditional lifestyle intervention significantly increases weight loss compared to traditional lifestyle intervention alone in overweight premenopausal women.

To lose more weight, replace 1-2 of your main meals daily with a nutritionally complete meal replacement shake or bar (approx. 220 kcal). Combine this with a daily goal of walking 10,000 steps and following a 1200-calorie diet plan. This structured approach has been shown to nearly double weight loss compared to diet and exercise alone in overweight women.

Weight loss of 5-10% of initial body weight significantly reduces chronic disease risk factors (body fat, BMI, waist circumference, resting energy expenditure, insulin, cholesterol, LDL), while weight loss of 10% or greater provides additional significant improvements in blood pressure and triglycerides.

Aiming for a 5-10% reduction in your initial body weight can significantly improve your cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure. If you can achieve 10% or more, you may see additional improvements in blood pressure and triglycerides. Focus on steady, sustainable weight loss rather than rapid, extreme measures.

Low Energy Availability (LEA), defined as energy availability < 30 kcal/kg fat-free mass (FFM) per day, causes detrimental physiological adaptations including endocrine suppression, reduced bone mineral density, and impaired performance in both male and female athletes.

Ensure your daily energy intake minus exercise expenditure is at least 30 kcal per kg of fat-free mass. If you are an athlete, especially in weight-sensitive sports, monitor for signs of LEA such as fatigue, menstrual irregularities (in females), or decreased performance. Consult with sports dietitians and medical professionals to adjust nutrition and training loads appropriately.

Intentional weight loss via caloric restriction in obese elderly individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is associated with improvements in global cognition, verbal memory, executive function, and language.

If you are an older adult with obesity and mild memory issues, working with a nutritionist to create a moderate calorie deficit (around 500 calories less per day) can help improve your thinking skills and memory. This approach is safe and does not necessarily cause muscle loss if you maintain your usual physical activity levels.

Eccentric resistance training produces greater neuromuscular adaptations (strength, power, hypertrophy) than concentric or traditional resistance training due to supramaximal force production and specific morphological changes.

Incorporate eccentric emphasis into your training to maximize strength and power. Use heavy loads or fast lengthening velocities for optimal results. Manage muscle soreness through proper planning and exposure.

Participatory workplace interventions that modify work practices (e.g., active workstations, ergonomics, pedometer challenges) significantly reduce total sedentary time and increase break frequency in office workers.

To reduce sedentary time, implement participatory workplace interventions that allow workers to modify their work practices. This can include using active workstations (standing/walking desks) for short periods (building up to 30 mins), using pedometers to encourage walking during breaks, or adjusting ergonomics to encourage 'active sitting'. The key is involving workers in designing these changes to ensure they fit the specific workflow and organizational culture.

Engaging in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) for at least 150 minutes per week is associated with a significantly higher probability of successful ageing in adults aged 60-83, regardless of whether the activity is accumulated in short bouts (<10 minutes) or long bouts (≥10 minutes).

To support successful ageing, aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity each week. You do not need to exercise in continuous 10-minute blocks; short bursts of activity (even under 10 minutes) provide similar benefits. Focus on accumulating this total time through any means possible, such as brisk walking, gardening, or household chores.

Short sleep duration (habitual or acute) is associated with reduced serum leptin and elevated serum ghrelin, which likely increases appetite and contributes to increased body mass index (BMI).

If you are struggling with weight management or excessive hunger, prioritize getting 7-8 hours of sleep. Short sleep (less than 7 hours) biologically increases your hunger hormones (ghrelin) and decreases your fullness hormones (leptin), making it significantly harder to resist high-calorie foods. Fixing your sleep schedule is a foundational step before expecting diet changes to stick.