Browse the evidence

Produce prescription programs do not significantly change BMI z-score in children, despite improvements in fruit and vegetable intake and food security.

While produce prescription programs improve diet and food security for children, they may not immediately impact BMI z-score. Focus on the overall health benefits and improved access to nutritious food rather than expecting immediate changes in weight metrics.

The doubly labeled water method slightly underestimates energy expenditure in heavier and fatter subjects compared to respiratory gas exchange, likely due to larger sequestration of isotopes in fat synthesis.

If you are using doubly labeled water to measure your energy needs, be aware that the device may slightly underestimate your true expenditure if you have a high body fat percentage. This is likely due to isotopes being sequestered in fat synthesis. For leaner individuals, the method is highly accurate.

Performing endurance exercise before resistance exercise attenuates the mRNA response of IGF-IEa (a growth factor) compared to performing resistance exercise before endurance exercise.

If you do cardio before weights, your body's expression of IGF-IEa (a growth factor) is reduced by 42% compared to doing weights first. If your goal is maximizing muscle growth signaling, prioritize resistance training before cardio in the same session.

Living in less walkable neighborhoods is associated with lower systolic blood pressure, higher HDL cholesterol, and lower likelihood of diabetes, but also lower likelihood of smoking.

While walkable areas might have higher smoking rates, the overall cardiovascular risk is still lower due to the benefits of daily physical activity. If you live in a walkable area, be aware of tobacco availability and consider cessation support. If you live in a less walkable area, prioritize active transport options to offset the higher CVD risk.

Short-term fat adaptation (5-6 days of high-fat diet followed by carbohydrate restoration) increases fat oxidation and spares muscle glycogen during submaximal exercise but does not improve performance in prolonged endurance events.

Do not use a high-fat diet followed by carb loading to try to improve your race time. While this strategy successfully teaches your body to burn more fat and save glycogen, it does not make you faster or help you finish endurance events sooner. Stick to standard carbohydrate strategies for performance.

Brief adaptation (5-6 days) to a ketogenic low-carbohydrate high-fat (LCHF) diet impairs high-intensity endurance performance and increases the oxygen cost of exercise, even when muscle glycogen is acutely restored prior to competition.

If you are an endurance athlete, switching to a very low-carb, high-fat diet for even a few days can hurt your race performance, even if you eat a lot of carbs right before the event. Your body's ability to use carbs efficiently at high intensities takes longer than 24 hours to recover. Stick to high-carbohydrate availability for key workouts and races to maintain speed and efficiency.

Lifestyle interventions alone are often insufficient for long-term weight maintenance due to hormonal and metabolic adaptations that drive weight regain, necessitating adjunctive therapies for many patients.

If you regain weight after lifestyle changes, do not blame yourself. Your body's hormones and metabolism are adapting to store energy. This is a common biological response, and it is why medical guidelines recommend considering additional therapies (like medication) if lifestyle changes alone do not sustain your results.

Longer duration of exposure to overweight or obesity in adulthood is associated with a graded, cumulative increase in carotid intima media thickness (cIMT) and adverse cardiovascular risk factors, independent of childhood adiposity.

The longer you carry excess weight in adulthood, the more your arteries thicken and your risk factors worsen. However, this damage is cumulative, meaning that reducing your exposure to excess weight at any point in adulthood can slow or reverse this progression.

Sulfonylureas are associated with weight gain, hypoglycemia, and declining long-term efficacy, making them unsuitable as first- or second-line treatments.

Avoid sulfonylureas if possible. They cause weight gain and low blood sugar, and their effectiveness fades over time. Use them only if other, safer options are not available or affordable.

Sustained weight loss (defined as >1 kg/year over 2 years) is an independent risk factor for higher all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with diabetes/prediabetes and CV risk, compared to maintaining stable weight.

If you have diabetes and heart disease risks, do not try to lose weight. If you have lost weight, do not try to lose more. Your goal should be to stabilize your weight. Aggressive weight loss strategies may increase your risk of death.

Circulating very-long-chain saturated fatty acids (VLCSFAs) in erythrocytes are NOT significantly associated with a reduced risk of incident coronary heart disease (CHD) after multivariate adjustment.

Unlike plasma levels, erythrocyte levels of these specific fatty acids do not show a clear protective effect against heart disease in this study. This highlights that the location of the fatty acid (plasma vs. cell membrane) matters for its health impact.

Adipose tissue (AT) dysfunction, rather than fat mass alone, is the primary mechanistic link between obesity and adverse health outcomes, explaining why some individuals with obesity remain metabolically healthy while others with normal weight develop obesity-related diseases.

Your health risk from obesity is not just about how much you weigh, but how your fat tissue is functioning. Factors like visceral fat, inflammation, and insulin sensitivity matter more than BMI alone. Focus on metabolic health markers rather than just the scale.

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) induces weight loss and metabolic improvements through complex neurohormonal mechanisms (incretins, vagal signaling, microbiome shifts) rather than solely through mechanical restriction or malabsorption.

Surgery works by changing your gut hormones and brain signals, not just by making your stomach smaller. This hormonal shift helps control hunger and blood sugar. Post-surgery, you must follow dietary guidelines to support these new hormonal balances.

The beta-3 adrenoceptor agonist TAK-677 fails to produce significant metabolic effects (fat loss or oxidation) in obese humans, despite increasing energy expenditure slightly at the highest dose.

TAK-677, a beta-3 agonist tested in obese individuals, did not result in fat loss or changes in body composition, despite a slight increase in energy expenditure at the highest dose. This suggests that beta-3 agonists are not a viable standalone treatment for obesity in humans, likely due to low receptor density or bioavailability issues.

Silencing or deficiency of the mitochondrial Complex IV subunit COX5B in white adipose tissue drives intracellular lipid accumulation and adipocyte enlargement, whereas restoring COX5B expression counteracts age-dependent obesity.

This research suggests that age-related weight gain is driven by a specific decline in mitochondrial efficiency (Complex IV) in fat cells, regulated by the HIF1A protein. While you cannot directly 'dose' COX5B, the findings imply that strategies supporting mitochondrial health and reducing chronic hypoxic stress in adipose tissue may help prevent age-related fat accumulation. For humans, higher COX5B levels are associated with better weight loss outcomes after bariatric surgery, suggesting this biomarker has prognostic value.

In moderately trained individuals, preexercise muscle glycogen availability (low vs. high) does not influence the rate of plasma glucose disposal during low- or moderate-intensity exercise.

If you are moderately trained, your blood sugar management during moderate exercise does not depend on whether you ate carbs beforehand. Your body maintains stable glucose disposal rates whether your muscles are full of glycogen or depleted. Focus on exercise intensity and duration for metabolic benefits rather than manipulating glycogen to alter blood glucose handling.

Long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonists (liraglutide and semaglutide) activate POMC neurons and inhibit NPY/AgRP neurons in vivo, with effects occurring 12-24 hours post-injection and dependent on the TRPC5 channel and metabolic state.

Long-acting GLP-1 drugs like liraglutide and semaglutide change brain activity related to hunger and energy use, but this happens slowly, peaking 12-24 hours after injection. This effect is stronger when you are fasting. The drug works by activating specific brain cells (POMC) that reduce hunger and inhibiting others (NPY/AgRP) that increase it, using a channel called TRPC5.

Intermittent Energy Restriction (IER), including intermittent fasting and time-restricted eating, does not provide clear incremental benefit over Continuous Energy Restriction (CER) for weight loss or cardiometabolic health in humans.

Intermittent fasting or time-restricted eating is not superior to simply eating fewer calories every day for weight loss or heart health. If you prefer fasting, it may help you restrict calories, but it offers no extra metabolic benefit over consistent daily calorie control. Choose the approach that fits your lifestyle and allows you to maintain a healthy diet.

Bariatric surgery does not provide superior long-term cardiovascular benefits (specifically blood pressure and cholesterol) compared to non-surgical treatments.

While surgery is excellent for weight and diabetes, do not assume it automatically fixes heart health long-term. Monitor blood pressure and cholesterol closely, as non-surgical management may sometimes match or exceed surgical benefits in these specific areas over many years.

Older adults (64-78 years) exhibit an impaired ability to regulate food intake after weight loss, resulting in sustained lower body weight and significantly reduced hunger perception compared to young normal-weight adults.

For older adults, the biological drive to eat (hunger) may naturally decrease after weight loss, which can help maintain a lower weight without conscious effort. This is a biological shift, not a failure of willpower. If you are older and find you don't feel as hungry after losing weight, this is a normal physiological response that may help you maintain your new weight.

Physical activity levels (measured by PAL and activity monitors) remain stable between young adulthood (20-34 years) and middle age (60-74 years), with a significant decline only occurring in nonagenarians (90+ years).

You do not need to accept a gradual decline in activity as you move from your 20s to your 60s. This research shows that physical activity levels can be maintained throughout middle age. The significant drop in activity only occurs in the 90s. Focus on maintaining your current activity habits, as the biological drive to move does not necessarily fade until very late in life.

Higher circulating levels of long-chain monounsaturated fatty acids (specifically 22:1 and 24:1) are associated with a significantly higher incidence of congestive heart failure in humans.

Focus on the specific type of fat rather than just the category. While common monounsaturated fats (like olive oil) are generally good, high levels of long-chain monounsaturated fats (specifically erucic acid 22:1 and nervonic acid 24:1) found in certain fish, mustard, and meats are linked to a higher risk of heart failure. If you have risk factors for heart failure, consider moderating intake of foods high in these specific long-chain fatty acids.

Intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) increases the risk of frailty fractures and negatively impacts bone mineral density and lean body mass in adults with overweight/obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Be aware that significant weight loss can lead to some loss of bone density and a higher risk of fractures. Discuss strategies to protect your bones, such as ensuring adequate calcium/vitamin D intake and incorporating resistance training, with your healthcare provider while pursuing weight loss.

Household-level food expenditure and availability data (e.g., FAO Food Balance Sheets) are not reflective of individual dietary intakes and fail to capture intra-nation heterogeneity.

Do not rely on national food availability statistics to assess individual or subgroup dietary risks. These aggregate measures fail to capture individual consumption patterns and demographic disparities, leading to inaccurate health assessments.