Compare experts › Peter Attia vs Jason Fung

Peter Attia vs Jason Fung

Peter Attia (physician) and Jason Fung (physician, kidney specialist) side by side: how they train, eat, supplement and sleep, how strong the evidence is, and how to build a plan from either or both.

Words explained (12)
Zone 2
Steady cardio at a pace where you can still talk in full sentences, but not sing.
VO2 max
The most oxygen your body can use in hard exercise. A good measure of fitness; higher is better.
Intervals
Short hard efforts with easy recovery in between, such as 30 seconds fast, 90 seconds slow.
4 × 4
Four rounds of 4 minutes hard with 3 minutes easy in between. Also called Norwegian intervals.
Hinge
A movement that bends at the hips with a straight back, like a deadlift or picking a box up from the floor.
Mobility
Moving your joints freely through their full range.
Omega-3 (EPA, DHA)
Healthy fats found mostly in oily fish such as salmon, herring and sardines.
Time-restricted eating
Eating all your meals within a set window of the day, for example 8am to 6pm.
ApoB
A blood test that counts the particles carrying cholesterol. Linked to heart disease risk.
Rapamycin, metformin
Prescription drugs that some experts take hoping to slow ageing. Not proven for that, and never part of your plan.
Medicine 3.0
Peter Attia's name for preventing disease early instead of treating it late.
Centenarian
Someone aged 100 or older.

At a glance

MeasurePeter AttiaJason Fung
BackgroundPhysicianPhysician, kidney specialist
Training split40% strength · 40% aerobic · 10% intervals · 10% mobility45% strength · 35% aerobic · 12% intervals · 8% mobility
Signature habitZone 2 + VO2 maxFasting, less sugar
Protein1.6–2.2 g/kgNo fixed target
Training styleBalancedFasting
Overall evidenceStrongMostly weak
FollowingInstagram 1.6M · YouTube 1MYouTube 1.5M

Training splits are our estimates from each expert’s published routine. Following checked October 2026.

The key differences

  • Their training weeks are similar: no part of the split differs by more than 5 percentage points.
  • In plans in their style, both use 4-minute intervals (Norwegian 4 × 4) for hard sessions.
  • We rate the evidence behind Attia's protocol higher: strong, against mostly weak for Fung.
  • Supplements that go into a plan: Attia, omega-3; Fung, none (food first). Prescription items and personal stacks stay out of every plan.
  • Only Attia has a mobility or movement routine of their own.

Where they disagree

Fasting and muscle

From our Jason Fung profile

Fung uses long fasts; Attia moved away from them after losing muscle, and Lyon and Sims caution against fasting for active people in midlife.

Protocols side by side

Each line is rated for the evidence behind it. “Doctor only” items never go into a plan.

Training

Peter Attia

  • Zone 2 cardio (a steady pace where you can still talk) about 3 hours a week, for example 4 × 45 min. Start with about 2 hours if new to itStrong evidence
  • VO2 max intervals: 4 min hard, 4 min easy, repeated 4–6 times, once or twice a weekSome evidence
  • Heavy strength training 3–5 times a week, focusing on grip, slow lowering, pulling and hip-hinge movementsStrong evidence
  • Stability and balance work woven into most daysSome evidence
  • Benchmarks such as carrying half your body weight in each hand for 1 minute (men; about 75% of that for women) and long dead hangsPersonal habit
  • Choose the physical tasks you want to manage at 100 and train toward them nowNote

Jason Fung

No specific guidance in what we reviewed.

Eating

Peter Attia

  • Protein at least 1.6 g per kg of body weight a day. About 2.2 g/kg is the better target for active people with healthy kidneysSome evidence
  • Spread protein across about four meals of roughly 40–50 gPersonal habit
  • Follows no named diet. Focuses on energy balance and avoiding junk foodNote
  • Doubts time-restricted eating as a general tool and saves longer fasts for specific patientsNote
  • Says alcohol has no biochemical benefit. Personally keeps it to 0–8 drinks a week, at most 2 a dayPersonal habit

Jason Fung

  • Cut added sugar and refined grains; eat whole foods with natural fats.Some evidence
  • Stop snacking: three meals a day, then skip one meal a day.Personal habit
  • Eat within a shorter window of the day (time-restricted eating).Some evidence
  • Fasts of 24 hours (skipping two meals in a row) two or three times a week, as used in his clinic's programme.Personal habit
  • Longer fasts of several days; in 2016 he said fasts of up to a month were fine.Doctor only
  • For type 2 diabetes: no sugary drinks, fructose or processed food, and more natural fats.Doctor only

Supplements

Peter Attia

  • Fish oil reported at about 2 g EPA + 1.5 g DHA a day, aiming for a blood omega-3 level of about 8–12%Some evidence
  • Vitamin D, reported at about 5,000 IU a dayPersonal habit
  • Magnesium from several forms, about 1 g elemental a day in total (reported)Personal habit
  • Methylfolate and vitamin B12 to keep homocysteine below about 9 µmol/L, based on blood testsDoctor only
  • Prescription drugs such as statins or PCSK9 inhibitors to lower apoB when neededDoctor only
  • Treats rapamycin and metformin as unproven, experimental options, not general adviceNote

Jason Fung

No specific guidance in what we reviewed.

Sleep & recovery

Peter Attia

  • Allow 8–9 hours in bed with a fixed wake-up timeStrong evidence
  • Cool, dark bedroom, about 18 °CSome evidence
  • No food in the last three hours and no alcohol close to bedtimeSome evidence
  • Screens off well before bed. He keeps a second phone with no social appsPersonal habit
  • Sleep aids he has reported using: glycine, ashwagandha and magnesium L-threonate. Melatonin only for jet lagPersonal habit

Jason Fung

No specific guidance in what we reviewed.

Stress & mind

Peter Attia

  • Treats emotional health as a pillar as important as physical healthNote
  • Journaling as a regular practicePersonal habit
  • Keeps social media off his evening phone to protect wind-down timePersonal habit

Jason Fung

No specific guidance in what we reviewed.

Brain health

Peter Attia

  • Regular dry sauna (Outlive cites about 4 × 20 min a week at 80 °C or more, linked in Finnish studies to lower dementia risk)Some evidence
  • Sees ketogenic eating as a possible alternative brain fuel in early cognitive decline, based on small trialsSome evidence
  • Says the benefit of vitamin D for dementia risk is unclearNote

Jason Fung

No specific guidance in what we reviewed.

Weak spots to know

Peter Attia

  • Many of his exercise targets lean on observational studies that link fitness or strength to longer life. These show association, not proof that hitting a given number will add years.
  • A 2026 review in the Australian Journal of General Practice called the book's research base superficial. It said his intensive, personalised approach suits only a few affluent people, and that routine full-body MRI scans use a lot of resources and bring risks from incidental findings that the book does not discuss.
  • Some critics argue that the medications and screening tests he recommends for healthy people lack strong trial evidence, and that the risks could outweigh the benefits.

Jason Fung

  • Red Pen Reviews scored The Obesity Code at 31% for scientific accuracy, and The Diabetes Code at 33%.
  • His central claim that calories do not matter is contradicted by controlled studies.
  • Much of his support comes from case reports, small older studies and his own clinic.

Build a plan from Attia, Fung or both

Your free plan shows a week of gym sessions, cardio, a day of eating, supplements and mobility, fitted to your age, time and health.

Questions

What is the main difference between Peter Attia and Jason Fung?

Their training split differs most in strength: Attia about 40%, Fung about 45% (our estimate from their published routines). Attia's signature habit is Zone 2 + VO2 max; Fung's is Fasting, less sugar.

How much protein do Attia and Fung recommend?

Attia: 1.6–2.2 g/kg. Fung: No fixed target.

Whose advice has stronger evidence?

We rate the evidence behind Attia's protocol higher: strong, against mostly weak for Fung.

Do Attia and Fung disagree?

Yes, on fasting and muscle. See "Where they disagree" on this page.

Can I combine Attia and Fung?

Yes. In Build my mix you choose one expert per area, for example one for strength and another for eating. Your free plan shows the result straight away.

More comparisons

Full sources are on each profile: Peter Attia · Jason Fung. Reviewed October 2026.