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A New Study: Intermittent Fasting Is A Tool, Not Magic
Some guy on Twitter said intermittent fasting causes magical effects and leads to greater weight loss compared to the daily calorie restriction? Bad news — a new study added more evidence that intermittent fasting is no better than the daily calorie restriction [bite me, Twitter zealot].
Liu et al. randomized 139 participants with obesity into one of two groups:
Both diets were calorie-restricted (a 25% calorie deficit) because, er, well, howthefuckelse can you lose weight?
Anyway, the participants said to the researchers Yo, Ima need more help from you. And the researchers went fine and instructed the subjects to take daily dietary records, photograph the food they ate, and track meal timing via the fancy-pants mobile app. They also had in-person and phone follow-ups with a health coach.
So what happened?
Time-restricted eating aka intermittent fasting caused no magical benefits with regard to weight loss, body fat, or metabolic risk factors. Both diets led to similar body composition and health changes during the 12-month trial:
