Intervals are optional
A long-term study has confirmed that interval fasting is no better than counting calories
Svetlana Maslova, Hi-tech+
Both nutrition strategies are very popular and have their adherents. Scientists have shown that in the long run they lead to the same results in weight loss and equal benefits in key health indicators for overweight or obese people. The conclusions contradict the main rule of interval fasting — to lose weight, eat as much as you want, but in a limited period of time.
Article by Liu et al. Calorie Restriction with or without Time-Restricted Eating in Weight Loss is published in the New England Journal of Medicine – VM.
The popularity of interval fasting is largely due to the fact that a person on such a diet can eat any food in a certain period of time, and then starve, for example, in the interval of 16:8 hours or 6/1 day.
This dietary strategy can take various forms: from fasting every other day or fasting all day once or twice a week to a time-limited diet in which meals are limited to a few hours each day. This allows you not to give up the usual diet, and also does not require tedious calorie counting, which greatly simplifies people's lives.
Scientists decided to determine the specific benefits of interval fasting and calorie restriction in overweight people, but so far without other health problems.
During the year, 139 volunteers followed one of the diets. The first group was allowed to eat from 8 am to 4 pm, and the second throughout the day. However, scientists have limited the number of calories per day to everyone: men no more than 1800 kcal, and women up to 1500 kcal.
After 12 months, the scientists compared the results. On interval fasting, participants lost 9% of their body weight, and those who consumed food throughout the day lost 7.2% of their weight. The scientists stated that this difference is not statistically significant, and the results are primarily due to calorie restriction, not the diet.
Equally important are the results of other tests that reflect the general state of health of people.
On both diets, scientists noted equal achievements in reducing the level of fat deposits, including visceral, as well as the same indicators of blood pressure, glucose and lipid levels in the blood. "That is, that calorie restriction explains most of the positive effects of interval nutrition," the authors concluded.
Meanwhile, the results do not mean that all types of interval nutrition are completely useless. Such a regime will continue to be useful for people with metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, according to the findings of the study. For those who plan to adhere to interval fasting, scientists advise to limit calorie intake, because without it it is unlikely to lose weight.
In another study, scientists from the UK came to similar results, but found out that there is an important nuance in weight loss on interval fasting — people on such a diet lose muscle mass along with fat.
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