A pioneering study published in the journal Nature Medicine on the benefits of intermittent fasting revealed that not eating anything from 5 PM until 9 AM the following day helps to a greater extent improve blood sugar regulation and reduce abdominal subcutaneous fat.
Statistics on obesity and overweight
In Spain, the prevalence of obesity and overweight is 70% in men and 50% in women. In America, the combined prevalence of obesity and overweight is approximately 74% of the adult population. In Canada, the prevalence of obesity and overweight is around 60% of the adult population. In the UK the overall prevalence of obesity and overweight is 64% of the adult population.
The prevalence of obesity and overweight has become so prevalent that it has been declared a global epidemic. The worldwide prevalence of obesity has tripled since 1975 according to the World Health Organization, with 16% of adults aged 18 and older and 8% of children between the ages of 5-19 living with obesity in 2022. This represents more than 1 billion people around the World being obese, making it the most common form of malnutrition in most countries.
Carrying around this extra weight is associated with several metabolic disorders like type 2 diabetes, and hypertension, and it exponentially increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease as well as certain forms of cancer. Not only does the extra weight impact quality of life but it also represents a serious challenge for public health systems.
Nutritional Strategies
Research has shown that caloric restriction diets help with weight loss and improve cardiovascular health. However, this type of diet is not easy to sustain over the long term and most often leads to people giving up on the diet to regain any lost weight which is often accompanied by a few extra pounds.
New nutritional strategies are emerging which are trying to address the difficulties of adherence to a traditional calorie-restriction diet. Among these, one of the most promising is intermittent fasting, which consists of alternating periods of eating windows with periods of fasting that can range in lengths of time: this is also known as time-restricted eating in which most of the fasting happens while sleeping.
For example, a person could eat breakfast at 8 AM and dinner at 8 PM creating a 12-hour eating window, and then eating nothing after dinner to create a 12-hour fasting period. Another popular intermittent fasting schedule is the 16:8 method which involves fasting for 16 hours with an 8-hour eating window each day.
This eating plan helps to maintain a regular daily cycle of eating and fasting which helps to stabilize the body’s biological rhythms to decrease the risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.
The Intermittent Fasting Study
For this controlled, randomized multicenter study, a team of scientists led by the University of Granada (UGR), the Public University of Navarra (UPNA) and the CIBERUniversity of Granada (UGR), the Public University of Navarra (UPNA) and the CIBER, investigated the effects of a 12-week intervention period among 197 participants with three different intermittent fasting regimes: early fasting (eating window): approximately 9:00-17:00), late fasting (approximately 14:00-22:00), and self-selected fasting, where people could select the time slot in which they wanted to eat, and did so on average between 12 AM and 8 PM. All of the participants, including the controls, received nutritional education on the Mediterranean Diet and healthy lifestyles.
The Results
According to the authors, the results indicate that it is unclear whether the timing of the eating window may have a different effect on weight loss, visceral fat, or overall cardiovascular health in those who are obese or overweight. The results did reveal that intermittent fasting showed no additional benefits over a nutritional education program on reducing visceral fat. However, those in the intermittent fasting groups, regardless of the timing of the eating window, achieved greater weight loss with an average of 3-4 kg compared to the controls. Additionally, those in the early fasting group experienced reduced abdominal subcutaneous fat to a greater extent than those in the other groups.
The scientist also assessed fasting and 24-hour glucose levels using continuous glucose monitors that were worn by the participants for 14 days before beginning the study and after the end of the study. These results revealed that those in the early fasting group experienced significant improvements in fasting glucose levels and overnight glucose compared to the other groups.
Benefits Of Not Eating At Night
The findings suggest that the early fasting regime used in this study may be especially beneficial in optimizing glucose regulation which could help to prevent diabetes and improve metabolic health. Not eating at night allows the body more time to digest and process nutrients, and affords better regulation of blood glucose thus reducing the risk of developing sugar-related health problems and other metabolic disorders, explains Dr. Labayen, principal investigator of the study in Pamplona and member of CIBEROBN together with Dr. Jonatan Ruiz and Dr. Manuel Muñoz (CIBERFES).
It was noted that all of the intermittent fasting groups had a high adherence rate with no serious adverse events being recorded. Therefore, they present intermittent fasting as a safe and promising strategy for weight management and improving cardiovascular health among those who are obese or overweight, as well as improving the efficacy of nutritional interventions in these populations.
As with anything you read on the internet, this intermittent fasting article should not be construed as medical advice; please talk to your doctor or primary care provider before changing your wellness routine. WHN does not agree or disagree with any of the materials posted. This article is not intended to provide a medical diagnosis, recommendation, treatment, or endorsement. Additionally, it is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
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References/Sources/Materials provided by:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03375-y
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/search/research-news/12328/#:
Intermittent Fasting For Gut Health And Weight Management – WorldHealth.net
The Vicious Twins: Hypertension and Obesity In America – WorldHealth.net
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight
https://www.worldhealth.net/news/has-obesity-become-greater-risk-global-health-hunger/
Obesity in Canada – Statistics & Facts | Statista
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/health-survey-for-england.
