An international team of scientists looked at 22 studies that compared intermittent fasting to other dietary interventions like eating less, or eating only specific types of foods. They also compared intermittent fasting to doing nothing. They concluded that intermittent fasting was ineffective for weight loss in overweight or obese adults compared to other dietary advice or doing nothing.
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From TikTok and Instagram influencers to celebrities like Hugh Jackman and Kourtney Kardashian, intermittent fasting has gotten a lot of hype.
The diet restricts what time you eat rather than what or how much you eat. The idea is that short periods of fasting cause your body to burn through stored fat reserves. But is that conventional wisdom true? And can it really contribute to weight loss? A recent literature review, conducted by an international team of scientists, says: not really!
After looking at 22 smaller studies comparing intermittent fasting both to traditional dietary advice and to doing nothing, the researchers concluded that intermittent fasting had little to no effect when it came to weight loss.
So before you decide to miss a meal or two, think about whether that skip is supported by science. Also, consult your doctor if you have one.
Have a scientific question you want us to answer? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.
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This episode was produced by Rachel Carlson, Jordan-Marie Smith and Hannah Chinn. It was edited by Christopher Intagliata, William Troop and Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineers were Peter Elena and Jimmy Keeley.