Harvard Health Content API

Some people may feel like it’s pointless to exercise if they’re not losing weight as a result. But there are many reasons to exercise beyond weight loss. Regular exercise has a long list of health benefits, including an energy boost, better sleep, and reduced risks for addictive behaviors as well as many chronic diseases such as heart disease, strokes, many cancers, dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease), diabetes, depression, anxiety, pneumonia, osteoporosis, and kidney problems.

The approach to certain blood tests appears to be shifting. Doctors might stop ordering routine vitamin D screenings for healthy people younger than 75; they might order a one-time combination of lipoprotein(a), C-reactive protein, and LDL (bad) cholesterol tests as a way to predict future heart problems; and they might rely less on standard ranges designated as “normal” in a complete blood count (CBC) test, and instead focus more on comparing someone’s latest CBC results to previous CBC tests.

In a 2024 study of more than 183,000 middle-aged healthy people followed for 13 years, those who closely followed a plant-based diet had lower risks of developing blood clots in the legs or lungs, even if their genes made them more likely to get the blood clots.

In a 2024 review of 116 randomized, controlled trials including almost 7,000 people (average age 46) who were overweight or obese, as little as 30 minutes of aerobic exercise per week was linked to reduced body weight, waist size, and body fat over eight weeks.

In a 2025 study of 40,000 coffee drinkers followed for a decade, those who drank coffee in the morning were 16% less likely to die during the study period, compared to those who didn’t drink coffee. The benefit didn’t appear among those who drank coffee throughout the day.

Engaging in prosocial, altruistic behavior that benefits other people—such as doing volunteer work, giving money to charity, or performing small acts of kindness—may be beneficial to cardiovascular health. Possible mechanisms include reductions in stress and blood pressure. Volunteering has also been associated with improvements in heart-related risks, including increased step counts and less depression.

Most people don’t need to fast before a lipid test because the difference between LDL cholesterol values when fasting or not fasting is very small. But people who have had high triglyceride levels should fast prior to the test.

For people who have both heart disease and arthritis, two of the main treatments—exercise and medications—require careful planning and attention. Joint pain makes certain types of exercise difficult, and commonly used drugs for both conditions can have potentially serious interactions.