LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Intermittent fasting has become a popular way to diet, with approaches that range from skipping food for certain hours each day to fasting for entire days at a time.<\/p>\n
While research shows this eating pattern can help some people lose weight and may offer other health benefits, doctors say it may not be for everyone.<\/p>\n
Experts say intermittent fasting focuses less on what people eat and more on when they eat.<\/p>\n
Registered dietitian Tara Collingwood described the approach simply: “You eat only a particular number of hours for the day.”<\/p>\n
More than 13% of Americans have tried intermittent fasting, and many say they have turned to it either intentionally or even without realizing they were eating that way.<\/p>\n
“I have done fasting and I think it’s really a great thing,” Rhonda Roebuck said.<\/p>\n
“There are days where you’re busy and you don’t eat lunch, so unintentionally intermittent fasting,” Daniel Tamae said.<\/p>\n
One common form of intermittent fasting is known as time-restricted eating, or TRE. While it can help people cut back on how much they consume, new research from Germany<\/a> found that it does not improve metabolic health.<\/p>\n Collingwood said the timing of meals can matter.<\/p>\n “If someone is going to eat later in the day, that tends to be a little bit worse for your metabolism and for your risk of disease,” she said.<\/p>\n A study by the American Heart Association concluded that eight-hour time-restricted eating is linked to a 91% higher risk of cardiovascular death.<\/p>\n And while experts say some longer fasting periods – not eating for four days or more – may enhance cognition, shorter fasting appears ineffective, especially for those with cognitive decline.<\/p>\n Roebuck said fasting can feel more risky as people age.<\/p>\n “As you get older, you could get diabetes…Fasting could be really difficult for certain people,” she said.<\/p>\n Questions also remain about long-term weight loss. Collingwood said the long-term effects of intermittent fasting are still unknown and stressed the importance of monitoring overall calorie intake.<\/p>\n “It’s the reduction in calories that causes the weight loss, not necessarily eating in a shorter period of time,” she said.<\/p>\n