Is it worth suffering?
Interval fasting for weight loss turned out to be no more effective than three meals a day
Elizaveta Ivtushok, N+1
Interval fasting according to the 16:8 system when losing weight is not more effective than the usual three meals a day without restrictions. This was shown by American scientists: for 12 weeks, the participants in their study either practiced interval fasting, or did not limit themselves in any way in food. Both groups managed to lose weight, but the difference in lost kilograms was insignificant. The article was published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
Interval (or periodic) fasting implies limiting food intake to a time frame: for example, with a 16:8 nutrition plan, a person can eat only eight hours a day, and the rest of the time can only drink water, tea and coffee. It is assumed that with such a diet, the body spends more time burning fat reserves without replenishing energy from the food consumed.
Studies show that interval fasting can actually be effective: for example, in 2018, participants in one such study who followed a 16:8 nutrition plan managed to lose weight by 2.6 percent; in addition, their systolic pressure also decreased. Of course, the study is limited to a small sample, so the question of the effectiveness of interval fasting remains open: at a minimum, additional clinical controlled trials are needed.
One of these studies was conducted by scientists led by Dylan Lowe from the University of California, San Francisco. To do this, the scientists selected 116 obese or overweight volunteers (with a body mass index from 27 to 43) and divided them into two groups: the first group needed to eat according to the 16:8 system (during fasting hours it was allowed to drink drinks without calories), and the second, control group – to eat three times a day and, if desired, to have a snack. The time at which the participants from the first group could eat was the same for everyone – from 12 pm to 8 pm – and they were not limited in calories in any way.
In total, the study took place for 12 weeks: at the beginning and at the end, scientists measured the participants' weight, adipose tissue mass and fat-free mass, the level of glycated hemoglobin and insulin in the blood, as well as the metabolic rate according to the assessment of respiration. Since the 16:8 nutrition plan does not imply calorie restrictions, scientists did not ask participants to keep food diaries and did not take into account calories consumed (while scientists used a mathematical model that predicts average calorie intake per day based on demographic data, diet and activity).
Over 12 weeks, participants from the first group lost an average of 0.94 kilograms, and the difference from the initial weight was statistically significant (p=0.01). Participants from the second group lost slightly (p=0.07) compared to the initial weight – on average 0.68 kilograms. At the same time, weight loss did not differ significantly between the groups (p=0.63). The only significant difference between the groups was the change in non-fat body weight: the first group lost significantly (p=0.005) more.
Scientists have concluded that interval fasting during weight loss is no more effective than a standard three meals a day without time limits. As the model used by scientists showed, participants in the two groups consumed approximately the same amount of calories, so the absence of a significant difference can be explained by this (although interval fasting does not imply a special restriction of the caloric content of food).
Despite the fact that the most effective way to get rid of excess weight is still considered a calorie deficit, diets still remain popular – and therefore scientists quite often check their effectiveness. For example, recently, using meta-analysis, it was possible to show that the effect of most popular diets does not linger for more than a year.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru