Browse the evidence

Mandatory energy (calorie) labelling on restaurant menus significantly reduces the amount of energy purchased per meal, though the evidence quality is low.

If you want to reduce calories when eating out, look for restaurants that display calorie counts on their menus. This information helps you make slightly healthier choices, potentially saving about 47 calories per meal on average.

Lifestyle interventions for gestational diabetes reduce the risk of postnatal depression and increase the likelihood of meeting postpartum weight goals.

For women with gestational diabetes, lifestyle interventions not only help manage blood sugar but also reduce the risk of postnatal depression and help achieve postpartum weight goals.

In overweight or obese adults, consuming non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) leads to a small but statistically significant reduction in body weight compared to consuming sugar or placebo, whereas no significant weight change occurs in normal-weight adults.

If you are overweight or obese, switching from sugar-sweetened beverages to those with non-sugar sweeteners can help you lose a small amount of weight (approx. 2 kg) over several months compared to drinking sugary versions. This benefit is not seen in people who are already normal weight. The key is consistency and staying within safe daily intake limits.

Engaging in muscle-strengthening activities (e.g., resistance training) for 30-60 minutes per week is associated with a 10-20% lower risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, and total cancer compared to no muscle-strengthening activity.

To lower your risk of death and major diseases, aim for 30-60 minutes of muscle-strengthening activities (like lifting weights or bodyweight exercises) per week. You don't need to do it all at once; breaking it into 2-3 sessions is effective. This benefit exists even if you already do aerobic exercise like walking or running.

Combined muscle-strengthening and aerobic activities provide greater reductions in all-cause, cardiovascular, and total cancer mortality than either activity alone or neither.

For the best protection against death and major diseases, combine muscle-strengthening exercises with aerobic exercise. This combination offers significantly greater benefits (40% lower all-cause mortality) than doing either one alone.

Regular consumption of kefir provides bioactive peptides, essential amino acids, and vitamins that support immune function, metabolic regulation, and cognitive recovery.

Incorporate kefir into your diet to access bioactive peptides and amino acids that support immune health and metabolic balance. It is a nutrient-dense fermented food that may aid in recovery and homeostasis.

Medium-term (7-23 weeks) and long-term (≥24 weeks) resistance exercise training significantly reduces systolic and diastolic blood pressure in adults, with greater magnitude of benefit observed in older adults and those with elevated cardiometabolic risk.

To lower blood pressure, engage in resistance training 2-3 times per week for at least 7 weeks. You do not need expensive equipment; bodyweight, bands, or machines all work. If you are older or have high blood pressure, the benefits are even more pronounced, making it a highly effective non-pharmacological strategy.

Medium-term resistance exercise training (7-23 weeks) significantly reduces fasted insulin and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in adults, whereas short-term and long-term effects are less consistent or non-significant.

If your goal is to improve insulin sensitivity, aim for 7-23 weeks of consistent resistance training (2-3 times per week). This duration window appears optimal for reducing fasting insulin and HOMA-IR scores.

Resistance exercise training significantly improves aerobic capacity (VO2max) across short, medium, and long-term durations, with the largest absolute improvement seen in short-term interventions.

Incorporate resistance training into your routine to boost your aerobic capacity (VO2max). You will see improvements regardless of whether you train for 6 weeks or 6 months, with the biggest initial gains in the first 6 weeks.

Sleep extension in short sleepers reduces appetite, particularly for sweet and salty foods, and increases daytime physical activity, supporting weight management.

If you are a short sleeper, try extending your sleep by 1-2 hours. This can significantly reduce your cravings for sweet and salty foods and increase your daytime energy and activity levels. It is a feasible and effective strategy for improving weight management.

Time-restricted feeding (16-hour daily fasting window) produces significant short-term weight loss and improves walking speed in overweight, sedentary older adults (≥65 years).

Try eating all your meals within an 8-hour window each day, leaving 16 hours for fasting. Start by gradually extending your fasting time over the first week. Focus on consuming enough protein and nutrients during your eating window. This approach may help with weight loss and mobility in older adults, but consult your doctor first, especially if you have diabetes or other health conditions.

Consumption of two kiwifruits one hour before bedtime for four weeks significantly improves total sleep duration, sleep efficiency, and reduces wake after sleep onset in individuals with self-reported sleep disturbance.

Eat two kiwifruits one hour before bed every night for at least four weeks. This simple habit has been shown to increase total sleep time by nearly 40 minutes and improve sleep efficiency in people with sleep issues. The fruit provides serotonin, folate, and antioxidants that support sleep regulation.

Muscle-derived musclin (encoded by Ostn) is required for full endurance training adaptation, as its absence impairs training-induced improvements in running performance and mitochondrial activity.

Current evidence for musclin's role in training adaptation comes from short-term mouse studies. While it appears important for performance gains in mice, there is no human data yet. Do not seek out musclin-based interventions for training enhancement until human trials are available.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) interventions, including acupuncture, herbal medicine, and dietary therapy, may help manage obesity and diabetes by regulating gut microbiota, reducing inflammation, and improving insulin sensitivity.

If you are managing obesity or diabetes, TCM modalities like acupuncture, specific herbal formulas (e.g., Ginseng, Cinnamon), and dietary adjustments may offer supportive benefits by improving insulin sensitivity and gut health. However, these should not replace standard lifestyle changes or prescribed medications without consulting your doctor, as the evidence is still evolving.

Natural compounds, specifically oligomeric procyanidins from apple polyphenol extract and tetrahydrofuran from nutmeg, inhibit pancreatic lipase activity in vitro and in animal models, potentially offering safer alternatives to synthetic inhibitors.

Some natural extracts, like those from apples (procyanidins) and nutmeg, show promise in blocking fat-digesting enzymes in lab tests. However, they are not yet proven to be effective or safe for weight loss in humans compared to established treatments. Do not rely on them as a primary weight loss strategy without medical guidance.

Low-carbohydrate diet scores are not associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.

Following a low-carbohydrate diet does not appear to offer a specific advantage in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes compared to moderate-carbohydrate diets, according to this meta-analysis. Focus on overall dietary quality and maintaining a healthy weight.

Soy protein supplementation has an inconsistent effect on testosterone and cortisol levels, and more research is required to determine its impact on anabolic hormones.

Don't worry about soy protein affecting your hormones. The research shows inconsistent effects on testosterone and cortisol, with no clear evidence of negative impacts. You can consume soy protein without fear of hormonal disruption.

Newer GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists (semaglutide, tirzepatide) are expected to provide superior post-operative weight loss compared to prior GLP-1 RAs, despite a lack of specific post-surgical clinical trials.

Semaglutide and tirzepatide show impressive weight loss in non-surgical patients, but there is currently no data on their effectiveness specifically after bariatric surgery. Liraglutide and topiramate remain the best-supported options for post-surgical weight regain.

Low-carbohydrate diets (LCD) do not provide superior weight loss or glycemic control compared to low-fat diets (LFD) in the medium-to-long term; observed benefits are primarily driven by weight loss rather than carbohydrate restriction itself.

If your goal is weight loss or better blood sugar control, you do not need to restrict carbohydrates specifically. Focus on creating a caloric deficit and choosing nutrient-dense foods. Long-term success depends on adherence and weight loss, not on avoiding carbs.

Obesity and metabolic disease are driven by cell-specific competition for calories where fat cells (adipocytes) and skeletal muscle cells outcompete energy-sensing cells in the brain and liver, creating 'false signals' of energy deficit that trigger increased food intake.

Focus on improving the 'competitiveness' of your skeletal muscle and liver cells against fat cells. This is primarily achieved through physical activity, which depletes stored energy in muscles and liver, forcing them to compete more effectively for blood glucose and lipids. This reduces 'false signals' of hunger caused by fat cells hoarding energy. Exercise is not just for burning calories; it is a tool to reset cellular nutrient partitioning.

Off-label use of topiramate and/or metformin achieves clinically significant preoperative weight loss (>8% total body weight loss) in patients with BMI ≥50 kg/m2 who fail standard bariatric nutritional prescriptions due to dysregulated appetite.

If you have a BMI over 50 and are waiting for bariatric surgery but struggle with hunger and cravings despite dieting, ask your doctor about off-label use of generic Topiramate or Metformin. These drugs can help suppress appetite and facilitate the weight loss needed to make surgery safer and more successful, often at a fraction of the cost of newer branded drugs.

GLP-1 receptor agonists and GIP may influence cardiac lipid metabolism by modulating LPL activity, potentially offering cardioprotection, though the specific effect on cardiac LPL remains unclear.

GLP-1 and GIP drugs help with weight and glucose, but they may also directly affect how the heart processes fat. The exact impact on the heart is still being studied, but it may offer additional protection beyond weight loss.

Semaglutide treatment (up to 2.4 mg weekly) significantly reduces body weight, fat mass, and emotional eating behaviors in patients with hypothalamic obesity resulting from craniopharyngioma.

For patients with hypothalamic obesity due to brain tumors or surgery, semaglutide (up to 2.4 mg/week) combined with dietary counseling can significantly reduce weight and emotional eating, even when other treatments fail. It works by targeting brain circuits beyond the damaged hypothalamus.

Tirzepatide use in non-diabetic obese patients can induce severe ketoacidosis, primarily through starvation ketosis driven by gastrointestinal side effects and reduced caloric intake, rather than diabetic mechanisms.

If you are using tirzepatide for weight loss, do not buy it over the counter without medical oversight. Be aware that severe nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea combined with low food intake can lead to dangerous acid buildup (ketoacidosis), even if you do not have diabetes. Seek immediate medical attention if you experience abdominal pain, vomiting, and rapid breathing.