Alternate day fasting, where a person eats normally one day and fasts the next, is more effective than other forms of intermittent fasting and calorie restriction, a new study suggests.
A new study suggests that fasting every other day could be the secret to shedding those unwanted pounds more effectively than other intermittent fasting or calorie restriction diets.
Despite scientists calling for further research to confirm these findings, a recent review indicates that this ‘feast and famine’ approach to dieting may offer superior weight loss benefits.
Alternate day fasting, which involves a 24-hour fast every second day, has been gaining traction in recent years.
Other popular intermittent fasting methods include time-restricted eating, where individuals only eat within a specific window each day, such as the 16:8 diet which involves a 16-hour fasting period followed by an eight-hour eating window; and whole-day fasting, like the 5:2 diet which includes five days of regular eating and two days of fasting.
Researchers from Scotland, the US, Canada and Germany set out to compare these fasting methods with continuous energy restriction diets, examining all available evidence.
They analysed data from 99 studies involving over 6,500 participants.
The average body mass index (BMI) of those involved in the studies was 31, and nearly nine out of ten (89%) had pre-existing health conditions.
The researchers discovered that both intermittent fasting diets and calorie restricted diets resulted in weight loss.
However, compared to continuous energy restriction, alternate day fasting was the only strategy that showed a benefit in body weight reduction, with individuals on this diet losing 1.29kg more, according to the study published in The BMJ.
The authors stated that alternate day fasting demonstrated a “trivial” reduction in body weight compared to both time restricted eating and whole day fasting.
“Minor differences were noted between some intermittent fasting diets and continuous energy restriction, with some benefit for an alternate day fasting strategy with weight loss in shorter duration trials,” the authors penned.
“All intermittent fasting strategies and continuous energy restriction diets showed a reduction in body weight when compared with an ad-libitum diet”.
“Of three intermittent fasting diets (ie, alternate day fasting, time restricted eating, and whole day fasting), alternate day fasting showed benefit in body weight reduction compared with continuous energy restriction.”
Around 29% of adults in the UK are obese. Just last week, the NHS’ top doctor suggested that weight loss jabs could be as transformative as statins.
Later this month, GPs in England will be permitted to prescribe mounjaro, also known as tirzepatide, for the first time.
Previously, patients needed to access these drugs through a special weight loss service.