Browse the evidence

A validated physical activity questionnaire (Kriska questionnaire) significantly correlates with objective energy expenditure (TEE/BMR) in Pima Indians, indicating that self-reported leisure and occupational activity is a reliable proxy for metabolic cost in this population.

For populations with high obesity and diabetes risk, self-reported physical activity questionnaires can be a valid tool to estimate energy expenditure. This allows for better assessment of lifestyle factors without requiring expensive doubly-labeled water tests in large-scale studies.

Consuming carbohydrates last in a mixed meal significantly reduces postprandial glucose and insulin excursions compared to consuming carbohydrates first or all components together in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

If you have type 2 diabetes, try eating your vegetables and protein before your carbohydrates (like bread, rice, or fruit) during meals. In this study, this simple change reduced blood sugar spikes by over 50% compared to eating carbs first. You do not need to cut out carbs; just delay them until the end of your meal. This strategy works by slowing down digestion and boosting hormones that help regulate blood sugar.

Supplementation with both EPA and DHA (approx. 2:1 ratio) for 8 weeks inhibits muscle strength deficit and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) following eccentric exercise in untrained individuals.

If you want to use fish oil to help recover from tough workouts, you need to take it every day for at least 8 weeks before you expect results. Look for a supplement with roughly twice as much EPA as DHA (a 2:1 ratio). Taking just one type of omega-3 or waiting until you are sore to take it will likely not help.

EPA and DHA supplementation improves muscle function (strength, torque, EMG) and may increase muscle mass in elderly or wasting conditions, but has unclear effects on muscle protein synthesis in trained young adults.

If you are older or dealing with muscle loss, fish oil might help maintain or build muscle mass when combined with training. If you are a young, trained athlete, fish oil is unlikely to boost your muscle growth or protein synthesis beyond what your training already does.

Excessive training volume (e.g., >20-30 sets per session) may impair recovery and lead to negative adaptations or a plateau in hypertrophy, suggesting an upper threshold exists.

While more sets generally lead to more muscle, there is an upper limit. If you are doing very high volumes (e.g., 20+ sets per session), you may be impairing recovery. Consider distributing volume across multiple sessions or reducing volume to a manageable level (e.g., 10-20 sets per week) to optimize growth. Periodize your volume to avoid overtraining.

GLP-1 analogues (Semaglutide and Liraglutide) are recommended for MASLD patients with BMI >27 kg/m2 and CVD risk factors when lifestyle intervention is insufficient, offering significant weight loss and CVD risk reduction.

If lifestyle changes alone haven't reduced your weight or CVD risk, and your BMI is above 27, ask your doctor about GLP-1 analogues like Semaglutide or Liraglutide. These medications can help you lose significant weight (up to 15% with Semaglutide) and improve your heart health.

Plyometric training produces whole muscle hypertrophy in the lower extremities that is similar to resistance training in untrained and recreationally active individuals over short-term interventions (up to 12 weeks).

If you are new to exercise or lightly active, plyometric exercises (like jump squats or hops) can build muscle size in your legs just as effectively as traditional weightlifting over a 3-month period. You do not need to lift heavy weights to gain muscle mass; high-velocity movements are sufficient. However, this applies to beginners; advanced lifters may need resistance training for continued growth.

Shorter self-reported sleep duration is associated with higher BMI and waist circumference in adult women, but this association is attenuated and becomes non-significant when physical activity levels are controlled for.

For women, getting less sleep is linked to higher body fat and waist size, but this link seems to happen because less sleep leads to less physical activity, not just direct metabolic changes. If you sleep less, you may be too tired to move as much. Prioritizing sleep might help maintain the energy levels needed for physical activity, which is the stronger driver of body composition in this context.

Achieving a state of nutritional ketosis (β-hydroxybutyrate ≥ 0.3 mmol/L) during a low-carbohydrate diet is associated with greater reductions in visceral adipose tissue, total body fat, and inflammation (CRP), but also with greater loss of lean muscle mass.

If you are doing a low-carb diet, aiming for ketosis (measured by blood ketones ≥ 0.3 mmol/L) may lead to greater fat and visceral fat loss and lower inflammation. However, be aware that this state is also associated with greater lean muscle loss, so maintaining your exercise routine, especially resistance training, is crucial.

High consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF) is associated with higher odds of metabolic syndrome and its components (hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL) in the general population.

Reduce ultra-processed food intake to improve metabolic health markers like blood pressure and cholesterol, regardless of your body weight. Focus on whole foods to lower cardiovascular risk.

Among individuals with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), high UPF consumption is associated with higher odds of Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) and significant liver fibrosis, particularly in ever-smokers.

If you have fatty liver, strictly limit ultra-processed foods. This is especially critical if you smoke, as the combination significantly increases the risk of serious liver scarring (fibrosis).

Low carbohydrate diets produce short-term improvements in glycemic control, weight loss, and cardiovascular risk factors in people with type 2 diabetes, but these benefits are not sustained over the longer term and do not show superiority over higher carbohydrate intakes.

If you have type 2 diabetes, a low carbohydrate diet can help you lose weight and improve blood sugar control in the first few months. However, after a year, these benefits are generally no better than those achieved by other healthy diets that focus on weight loss. Therefore, do not view low carbohydrate as a superior 'cure' or default treatment; choose the dietary pattern you can sustain best that results in weight loss and improved metabolic markers.

Eating rate is a primary driver of increased calorie intake, and slowing consumption through product reformulation represents a viable public health intervention to reduce energy intake.

To reduce calorie intake without changing what you eat, focus on slowing down your eating speed. The paper identifies eating rate as a direct driver of calorie consumption. You can leverage this by reformulating your food environment (e.g., choosing foods that require more chewing or are harder to eat quickly) or simply by consciously eating slower to allow satiety signals to register.

Performing a maximal isometric back squat at a 90-degree knee joint angle generates the highest overall muscle activation for the quadriceps and gluteus maximus compared to shallower (20 degrees) or deeper (140 degrees) positions.

If you are using isometric squats to maximize quad and glute activation, lock your knees at 90 degrees. Going deeper (140 degrees) actually reduces activation for these muscles, and going shallower (20 degrees) is also suboptimal. Keep your feet hip-width and bar high on your back.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) supplementation slightly reduces body fat mass and increases lean body mass in people with overweight and obesity, but may have adverse effects on glucose metabolism and inflammation.

CLA supplementation can lead to small reductions in fat mass and increases in lean mass, but it also carries risks of worsening glucose metabolism and lowering HDL cholesterol. It is not recommended as a primary strategy for body composition improvement compared to dietary fat quality adjustments.

Fat intake should be maintained at 10-25% of total calories during contest preparation to allow for adequate carbohydrate intake for performance, avoiding very low fat for long periods.

Set your fat intake to 10-25% of your daily calories. Do not drop it lower for extended periods. Prioritize getting your protein (1.8-2.7 g/kg) and carbohydrates (2-5 g/kg) first, then fill the remaining calories with fat. This ensures you have enough energy for training and supports hormonal health.

The dual GLP-1R/GCGR agonist BI 456906 produces clinically meaningful body weight loss (up to 13.8% over 16 weeks) in adults with overweight/obesity, driven by target engagement at both receptors.

BI 456906 is a once-weekly injection for people with overweight or obesity that works by targeting two hormones (GLP-1 and Glucagon). In early studies, it led to significant weight loss (nearly 14% over 4 months). The main side effects are gastrointestinal (nausea, vomiting), which are common but often manageable. It is designed for people who may not achieve sufficient weight loss with single-target therapies.

Successful weight loss maintainers and normal-weight individuals engage in significantly more light-intensity physical activity (LPA) and spend less time in sedentary behavior (SB) compared to individuals with overweight/obesity.

In addition to structured exercise, try to increase your daily light activity (like standing, slow walking, or household chores) and reduce long periods of sitting. Breaking up sedentary time with standing or light movement can help support your weight management efforts.

Phenotype-tailored interventions improve specific cardiometabolic risk factors, including waist circumference and triglycerides, more effectively than standard lifestyle interventions.

Focus on reducing waist circumference and triglycerides by adhering to a phenotype-tailored plan that ensures a consistent caloric deficit and appropriate physical activity, as this approach has been shown to improve these specific risk factors more than standard advice.

Phenotype-tailored interventions preserve lean mass percentage and resting energy expenditure (REE) better than standard lifestyle interventions.

To maintain muscle and metabolic rate during weight loss, follow a phenotype-tailored plan that includes specific exercise (like HIIT for low REE) and protein timing, as these strategies help preserve lean mass better than standard advice.

Early physical therapy, ambulation, and neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) are potent stimuli that sensitize skeletal muscle to amino acids, helping to retain muscle mass in older ICU patients.

Start moving as soon as medically possible. This includes sitting up, walking, or using electrical stimulation if walking isn't possible. Movement makes your muscles more responsive to the protein you eat, helping to preserve strength and shorten your hospital stay.

Whole food matrices (e.g., whole milk, whole eggs) may enhance muscle protein synthesis rates compared to isolated protein fractions (e.g., skim milk, egg whites) due to synergistic non-protein components like fats and micronutrients.

If you can choose, eat the whole egg (yolk included) or whole milk rather than just egg whites or skim milk. The fats and vitamins in the yolk/milk fat may give your muscles a slight extra boost in building protein.

High cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) can neutralize the increased risk of type 2 diabetes associated with statin use, whereas low or moderate CRF does not.

If you take statins, maintaining high cardiorespiratory fitness is crucial to offset the potential increased risk of type 2 diabetes. While statins are linked to higher diabetes risk in less fit individuals, those with high fitness levels do not show this increased risk. Prioritize cardiovascular exercise to maintain high fitness if you are on statin therapy.

In patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and obesity, weight loss therapy should prioritize selective fat mass reduction while preserving lean body mass (muscle) to avoid worsening sarcopenia and surgical risk.

If you have IBD and are overweight, your weight loss goal is different from the general population. You must prioritize keeping your muscle mass. Standard diets that just cut calories might hurt your muscles. You need a plan that specifically protects lean body mass, likely involving higher protein intake and monitoring muscle function, not just the scale number.