Browse the evidence

Preventing further population-wide weight gain in adults requires a daily energy deficit of less than 100 kJ (24 kcal), achievable through small changes in diet or physical activity.

To stop gaining weight, you do not need to start a rigorous diet or exercise program. You only need to create a tiny daily energy deficit of about 24 calories. This is equivalent to skipping just a few bites of food at dinner or taking a 5-minute brisk walk. Consistency with these tiny habits is more effective and sustainable than attempting drastic lifestyle overhauls.

A personalized low-glycemic index (Low-GI) diet informed by nutrigenetic testing yields superior long-term weight loss and cardiometabolic improvements compared to a standard ketogenic diet, primarily through enhanced dietary adherence rather than immediate metabolic advantage.

If you are struggling to keep weight off after losing it, consider that 'one-size-fits-all' diets like Keto may not be sustainable for you long-term. A personalized approach that adjusts your carbohydrate and fat intake based on your genetic profile (specifically genes related to metabolism and sensitivity) can help you maintain weight loss and improve cholesterol and blood sugar levels. This works best when the diet is tailored to your biology, making it easier to stick to over the long haul.

Bariatric surgery induces a significant decrease in Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) and metabolic adaptation at 8 weeks post-intervention, but this metabolic suppression is reversed by 52 weeks, coinciding with a sustained increase in free-living physical activity.

If you have had bariatric surgery, expect your energy expenditure to drop significantly in the first two months as your body adjusts to its new size. This 'metabolic adaptation' is normal but not necessarily permanent. The key to long-term success appears to be increasing your daily physical activity, which may help counteract this drop in energy expenditure and allow your metabolism to normalize over the course of a year.

Weight loss efficacy from primary care interventions attenuates over time, with an average regain of 0.53 kg per 6 months, even when the intervention continues.

Don't expect your weight loss to stay perfectly static. Even with ongoing treatment, you may regain about 0.5 kg every 6 months. This is normal. To maintain your loss, you likely need to stay on your treatment plan (including medication if used) long-term, rather than treating it as a short-term fix.

Anti-obesity medication (AOM) administered in primary care settings produces approximately double the weight loss (-2.94 kg) compared to non-pharmacologic interventions, but efficacy attenuates over time at a rate of 0.44 kg per six months.

If you are seeking weight loss in primary care, expect that adding medication to lifestyle changes will roughly double your weight loss compared to lifestyle changes alone. However, be prepared for this to be a long-term commitment; stopping the medication often leads to regaining the weight because your body fights to maintain the lower weight. Consistency and long-term use are key to maintaining results.

Consuming at least 400 g/d of total fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of cancers of the oral cavity, oesophagus, stomach, and colorectum.

Eat at least 400 grams of fruits and vegetables every day. This is recommended to help reduce the risk of several types of cancer, including those of the mouth, throat, stomach, and colon.

The Mediterranean Dietary Score (MDS) is a valid tool for operationalizing adherence to the Mediterranean diet in epidemiological studies, though it is sample-dependent.

Use the MDS or similar scores to track adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet. Be aware that 'high adherence' is relative to your specific population sample. For absolute guidance, focus on the specific food group recommendations (high plants, healthy fats, low meat).

Omega-3 fatty acid (n-3 PUFAs) supplementation augments muscle protein synthesis (MPS) and mTOR signaling in the elderly, potentially by attenuating age-related anabolic resistance through anti-inflammatory mechanisms.

Consider adding omega-3 supplements (fish oil) to your diet. While they won't build muscle on their own, they may help your body respond better to protein and exercise, especially if you have chronic inflammation.

Consuming carbohydrates above 65% of total energy intake reduces the odds of having a high Triglyceride-Glucose (TyG) index, while consuming lipids below 25% of total energy also reduces the odds of a high TyG index.

For patients with heart disease, dietary composition matters for metabolic health. This study suggests that consuming more than 65% of calories from carbohydrates and less than 25% from lipids is associated with a lower Triglyceride-Glucose index. However, be cautious: the quality of these carbohydrates (e.g., whole grains vs. refined sugars) and fats (e.g., unsaturated vs. saturated) was not fully analyzed here, so prioritize nutrient-dense sources.

Replacing fat with complex carbohydrates (vegetables, fruits, whole grains) in a low-fat diet improves cardiovascular risk factors and satiety compared to replacing fat with simple sugars.

When cutting fat, choose your carbs wisely. Focus on vegetables, fruits, and whole grains rather than simple sugars. This improves satiety and heart health markers, even if the direct weight loss difference between carb types is small.

Higher-protein diets (27% vs 18% energy) produce small-to-moderate improvements in adiposity (weight loss, BMI, waist circumference), blood pressure, and triglycerides compared to lower-protein diets, though these benefits are offset by increased gastrointestinal adverse events and lack of effect on bone/kidney health in healthy populations.

If you are healthy and want to lose weight or improve blood pressure, increasing your protein to about 27% of your calories (compared to a standard 18%) can help you lose about 1.2 kg more over 3 months and lower your blood pressure slightly. However, expect more stomach issues like bloating or constipation, and do not expect improvements in cholesterol or blood sugar beyond what you get from weight loss itself. The benefits are real but modest.

Low-Carbohydrate diets are more effective in reducing HbA1c in the short term (<12 months), in smaller studies, and in patients aged 60 years or older.

If you are over 60 years old with Type 2 Diabetes, a Low-Carbohydrate diet may offer superior HbA1c reduction compared to other diets, especially if you can maintain it for less than a year. This subgroup benefit was not as pronounced in younger or longer-term studies.

Weight loss interventions (both surgical and behavioral) lead to reduced neural activation in brain areas related to emotion, memory, and learning (cingulate gyrus, lentiform nucleus, precuneus) in response to visual food cues.

Successful weight loss, whether through surgery or lifestyle changes, appears to reduce the brain's intense reaction to food cues in areas related to emotion and memory. This suggests that maintaining weight loss can lead to a 'normalization' of neural responses, making it easier to resist food cues over time.

The timing of food intake, particularly for high-fat and high-sugar diets, is a critical determinant of metabolic health, with feeding during the inactive (light) period causing greater adverse effects than feeding during the active (dark) period.

Try to align your largest meals with your active hours. For most people, this means eating more during the day and less at night. This simple timing adjustment can improve how your body processes fats and sugars, reducing the risk of weight gain and metabolic issues.

Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation attenuates muscle loss and accelerates recovery during periods of muscle disuse (immobilization) in young women.

If you are a young woman facing temporary immobilization (e.g., injury/surgery), taking ~3g EPA and ~2g DHA daily before and during the immobilization period may help preserve muscle volume and speed up recovery compared to not taking omega-3s.

In this urban Tanzanian population, higher BMI and waist circumference are significantly correlated with adverse lipid profiles and blood pressure in men, but this association is significantly weaker or absent in women.

For men in this population, managing weight is directly linked to managing blood pressure and cholesterol. For women, while weight management is still important for metabolic syndrome, the direct link between weight and blood pressure/lipids is less predictable, suggesting that regular metabolic screening is crucial regardless of BMI.

Focused mass media campaigns targeting specific dietary factors (fruits, vegetables, salt) effectively improve population-level dietary intake.

If you are designing a public health initiative, focus your media budget on one clear, actionable message (like 'eat more veggies' or 'reduce salt') rather than vague health advice. Use multiple channels (TV, print, radio) in bursts to maximize reach.

Adherence to a ketogenic diet for 6-12 months produces transient improvements in weight loss, blood pressure, triglycerides, and HbA1c, but these benefits typically diminish and lose statistical significance after 12 months.

If you start a ketogenic diet, expect to see improvements in weight, blood pressure, and blood sugar within the first year. However, do not expect these benefits to persist indefinitely if you cannot maintain the diet strictly. After 12 months, the weight loss advantage over other diets disappears, and you may regain weight. To mitigate this, consider focusing on plant-based fats and proteins rather than animal-derived ones, as this may improve long-term sustainability and cardiovascular risk profiles.

Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation (4g/day) enhances the sensitivity of skeletal muscle to amino acids and insulin, increasing MPS and mTOR activation in young and elderly subjects.

Consider taking 4g of omega-3 fatty acids daily. Recent research suggests this may help your muscles respond better to protein and exercise, potentially aiding muscle growth in both young and old.

Low physical activity (defined as ≤600 MET min/week) is highly prevalent (69.4%) in the Saudi adult population and is a primary driver of elevated cardiovascular disease risk, particularly when combined with obesity and unhealthy diet.

In this population, nearly 7 out of 10 adults do not meet basic physical activity guidelines. This is a major contributor to heart disease risk. Prioritize increasing daily movement, even if it starts with small steps like walking, to counteract the high prevalence of inactivity.

Obesity (BMI ≥30) affects nearly half (49.6%) of the Saudi adult population, with women having significantly higher rates of obesity (BMI >35) and central obesity compared to men.

Obesity is a major health issue in Saudi Arabia, affecting nearly half of adults. Women are disproportionately affected by severe obesity and central adiposity. Addressing environmental barriers to exercise and promoting safe spaces for physical activity can help mitigate this risk.

Higher nut consumption is associated with a significantly lower risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality, and sudden cardiac death.

Incorporate nuts into your diet regularly. This meta-analysis of large cohort studies links higher nut intake (highest quantile vs. lowest) with an 19% lower risk of dying from any cause and a 27% lower risk of dying from heart disease. You do not need to eat extreme amounts; simply ensuring you are in the highest consumption group compared to non-consumers or low consumers appears protective.

High consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with increased risk of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and all-cause mortality in adults.

Limit ultra-processed foods to reduce your long-term risk of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and early mortality. Focus on whole foods for better health outcomes.

Mobile monitoring and feedback tools embedded in primary care can enhance physical activity levels in patients with chronic diseases (COPD, Type-2 Diabetes) by combining self-monitoring, goal-setting, and automated feedback.

Use a mobile app with a hip-worn sensor to track your daily activity. Set a realistic daily goal in minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity with your nurse. The app will give you immediate visual feedback (like a bar chart or sun icon) when you reach your goal. You can adjust your goal if you have a bad day, but do so thoughtfully. Review your progress with your nurse every few months.