Weight loss achieved by intermittent fasting, study shows
Intermittent fasting can help people lose weight, latest evidence has unveiled.
Researchers have found that intermittent fasting can also improve cardiovascular health among people living with obesity complications. People can reduce their subcutaneous abdominal fat by eating their last meal of the day before 5pm, the study has reported.
Obesity is linked with several metabolic disorders, including type 2 diabetes, research has revealed. Scientists have identified that restricting your calorie intake can trigger weight loss and improve cardiovascular health, but most people struggle to maintain this diet.
There are several different ways to do intermittent fasting, but they are all based on choosing regular time periods to eat and fast. Limiting eating to a certain number of hours each day helps to maintain a daily cycle of eating and fasting, which stabilises our body's biological rhythms. Irregular eating or eating at night can disrupt these rhythms, triggering the development of type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease.
During the study of 197 people, the team of researchers looked at the impact of a 12-week intervention with three different fasting strategies: early fasting (9am to 5pm), late fasting (approximately 2pm to 10pm), and self-selected fasting.
Each participant wore a continuous glucose monitor for 14 days before and at the end of the intervention so the researchers could assess their 24-hour glucose levels. The results show that people on the intermittent fasting programme lost more weight than those following other diets. Participants in the early fasting group lost the most abdominal subcutaneous fat and had the best fasting glucose levels, the study has reported.
First author Dr Idoia Labayen said: “These findings suggest that early fasting may be especially beneficial in optimising glucose regulation, which may help prevent diabetes and improve metabolic health.
“Not eating at night allows the body more time to digest and process nutrients, better regulation of blood glucose is facilitated, thus reducing the risk of developing sugar problems and other metabolic disorders.”
Read the study in the journal Nature Medicine.