Vegan and vegetarian dietary patterns have moved from minority dietary choices to central elements of contemporary nutritional guidance, supported by observational cohorts, short-term randomised trials, and umbrella-level evidence (i.e., syntheses of multiple systematic reviews) reporting favourable associations with body weight, blood lipids, blood pressure, glycaemic control, and inflammatory markers. Recent direct comparisons against healthy omnivorous comparators—including the OMNIVEG controlled crossover transitioning from a traditional to a vegan Mediterranean diet and the Landry identical-twin trial—indicate that well-formulated plant-based patterns can produce additional short-term improvements in selected cardiometabolic markers even when the comparator is not the modern Western diet. Interpretation of the broader evidence base is nonetheless constrained by comparator quality, residual confounding, exposure misclassification, reliance on intermediate biomarkers, and limited follow-up. This critical narrative review integrates clinical, methodological, nutritional, and physiological evidence to compare vegan, vegetarian, and omnivorous dietary patterns, and argues that the dominant explanatory axis of long-term outcomes is dietary pattern quality—minimally processed plant-rich composition, nutrient adequacy, low ultra-processed food intake, and adherence—rather than the binary inclusion or exclusion of animal-source foods. Well-planned vegan and vegetarian patterns are valid dietary expressions that require systematic attention to vitamin B12, iodine, iron, zinc, calcium, vitamin D, EPA/DHA, and protein quality. Public health messaging should prioritise food quality, processing level, nutrient adequacy, adherence, and outcome hierarchy over binary dietary identities.

The emergence of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) and dual incretin-based therapies has fundamentally transformed obesity pharmacotherapy, enabling magnitudes of non-surgical weight loss that were previously unattainable. Yet, the clinical success of these treatments cannot be measured in kilograms alone. Total body weight is a composite, tissue-nonspecific endpoint that fails to distinguish between adipose reduction and losses in skeletal muscle mass, strength, and physical function—compartments of direct relevance to metabolic health, functional independence, and long-term resilience. This narrative review builds on and extends existing conceptualizations of weight loss quality by proposing a clinically oriented, multidimensional framework of high-quality weight loss. Within this framework, preferential adiposity reduction is achieved while preserving skeletal muscle mass, neuromuscular function, dietary adequacy, and cardiometabolic health. We examine the physiological and clinical consequences of lean tissue loss during pharmacological energy restriction, with specific attention to phenotypes at greatest risk (i.e., older adults, individuals with sarcopenic obesity, and those with type 2 diabetes). We then evaluate the evidence supporting precision protein nutrition, dietary fiber adequacy, and gastrointestinal tolerability management as nutritional countermeasures, followed by a mechanistic and clinical analysis of resistance training as the primary exercise strategy for preserving lean mass and function. Finally, we discuss body composition monitoring, integrated multidisciplinary care, and unresolved research gaps. The future of obesity treatment lies not in greater weight loss per se, but in achieving better weight loss—defined as metabolically favorable, functionally responsible, and clinically sustainable. Bone health is treated as a further dimension of high-quality weight loss, since pharmacologically driven energy restriction can adversely affect areal bone mineral density and microarchitecture, and adequate protein intake combined with mechanical loading is required to preserve skeletal integrity alongside lean mass.

Marine halophytes are gaining attention as a source of plant-derived bioactive compounds with potential applications across nutraceuticals, functional foods, and preventive nutrition. Among them, Salicornia europaea L. is a coastal succulent whose adaptation to hypersaline environments shapes a distinctive phytochemical profile of pharmacological interest. This narrative review integrates current evidence on the bioactive composition, mechanistic activities, and translational relevance of S. europaea and related Salicornia species. Their secondary metabolome includes flavonols, isorhamnetin glycosides, hydroxycinnamic acids, oleanane-type triterpene saponins, fermentable polysaccharides, carotenoids, and a mineral-rich ionic matrix. Reported activities span antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, vascular-protective, anti-adipogenic, glycaemic-modulating, antimicrobial, and microbiome-related effects, mediated through pathways involving NF-κB, PPAR-γ, endothelial nitric oxide signalling, and short-chain fatty acid production. Beyond its individual phytochemical components, the matrix as a whole may also support sodium-reduction strategies in food formulation, providing a complementary nutritional rationale for its incorporation as a functional ingredient. Despite a coherent body of mechanistic and preclinical findings, clinical evidence remains limited, particularly regarding long-term efficacy, dose standardisation, and bioavailability in humans. Future work should prioritise adequately powered intervention trials and standardised characterisation of marine halophyte bioactives to clarify their evidence-based role in functional food development and future precision nutrition applications.

The increasing prevalence of adolescent obesity and declining physical fitness highlights the need for integrative, non-invasive tools to identify central-adiposity–related cardiometabolic risk early. This study aimed to develop and analytically evaluate the adiposity–fitness imbalance (AFI) index and to examine its association with an anthropometric proxy of cardiometabolic risk (waist-to-height ratio > 0.50) in a nationally representative sample of Chilean adolescents. This cross-sectional study analyzed data from 7852 students from the Chilean National Physical Fitness Assessment System (SIMCE-EF). The AFI index was calculated as the difference between standardized adiposity and fitness components. Logistic and robust linear regression models were used. Higher standing long jump (OR = 0.69, 95% CI 0.65–0.74), push-ups (OR = 0.76, 95% CI 0.71–0.80), sit-ups (OR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.77–0.85), and VO₂max (OR = 0.82, 95% CI 0.75–0.89) were associated with lower odds of elevated WHtR (all p < 0.001), and a small protective association was also observed for flexibility (OR = 0.93, 95% CI 0.88–0.99, p = 0.016). Each one-standard-deviation increase in the AFI index was associated with a substantially higher odds of elevated WHtR (OR = 26.74, 95% CI 22.57–31.68, p < 0.001). In a sensitivity analysis that removed WHtR from the adiposity pillar, to avoid component–outcome overlap, the AFI index remained strongly associated with the outcome (OR per 1 SD = 14.60, 95% CI 12.77–16.70), with internal-validation discrimination of AUC = 0.93. The AFI index may represent a practical and scalable tool for early screening of central-adiposity–related risk in adolescents.

Background: Biomarkers are increasingly used in sport science and sports medicine to monitor training load, recovery, metabolic stress, nutritional status, and potential clinical risk in athletes. However, their interpretation is often limited by overreliance on isolated values, population reference ranges, and simplified thresholds. This narrative review aims to provide a contextual and metabolically informed framework for interpreting routine and emerging biomarkers in athletes. Methods: A critical narrative synthesis was conducted across key physiological domains relevant to athlete monitoring, including exercise intensity, metabolic flexibility, muscle damage, protein catabolism, hydration, hematological and iron status, micronutrient and bone–muscle health, inflammation, endocrine stress, sport-specific interpretation, and emerging metabolomics. The review integrated routine laboratory markers with pathway-level metabolomic interpretation and practical decision-making principles. Results: Routine markers such as lactate, creatine kinase, urea/blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, electrolytes, ferritin, C-reactive protein, cortisol, testosterone, and vitamin D are useful only when interpreted in relation to individual baseline, sampling conditions, recent workload, nutrition, hydration, sleep, illness, sex-specific physiology, and performance. Metabolomics expands interpretation by identifying pathway-level signatures involving glycolysis, β-oxidation, amino acid turnover, purine degradation, ketone bodies, acylcarnitines, bile acids, oxylipins, kynurenine metabolites, and exercise-induced signaling molecules such as lactate, β-aminoisobutyric acid (BAIBA), and N-lactoyl-phenylalanine (Lac-Phe). However, omics-derived markers require careful standardization and validation before routine applied use. Conclusions: Biomarkers should refine, not replace, clinical reasoning and athlete monitoring. A BASE framework (Baseline, Analytical standardization, Sport-specific context, and Evidence of functional change) may support more precise and proportionate interpretation of both routine blood tests and emerging metabolomic tools in athletes.

Background: Contemporary adults face fragmented schedules, sedentary digital work, cognitive load, logistical barriers, and unstable routines that can make conventional session-based exercise difficult to sustain. Exercise snacks, vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (VILPA), movement breaks, low-volume high-intensity interval training (HIIT), workplace exercise, and digitally mediated physical activity may reflect a broader redesign of exercise for real-world lifestyles. Objective: To develop a conceptual framework for lifestyle-congruent exercise models: approaches that intentionally modify dose, timing, setting, delivery, autonomy, or routine integration to reduce lifestyle-related friction while preserving a plausible physiological or behavioral stimulus. Methods: This evidence-based narrative review purposively identified sources through targeted searches, citation tracking, and manual verification across exercise science, sedentary behavior, workplace health, behavioral medicine, and digital health. Sources were selected for conceptual relevance, model-family representation, evidence-type diversity, and contribution to framework development, and then charted by model family, population, context, exercise architecture, delivery, outcomes, and implementation features. No systematic protocol, formal risk-of-bias assessment, or certainty grading were applied. Results: Thirty-one sources informed the framework. Five design logics were identified: dose compression, temporal distribution, routine embedding, sedentary substitution, and delivery mediation. These logics show that brief or time-efficient models are not interchangeable; they differ in intentionality, context, behavioral demand, safety considerations, implementation logic, and dominant friction addressed. Conclusions: Lifestyle-congruent exercise models are complementary strategies, not replacements for structured aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercise. Their value lies in matching exercise architecture to lifestyle-related friction while supporting progression toward guideline-consistent activity. Future research should test safety, equity, scalability, and long-term maintenance across diverse populations.