Recent research suggests that there is no significant difference between fasting and the other popular weight loss strategy of simply restricting how many daily calories you consume.
_636294156098942756.jpg?q=50 "Will Fasting On Alternate Days Make You Lose More Weight?")
Every other day a new diet is introduced to make weight loss easier and faster; or so they claim. Some diets might spur short-term weight loss, but many are difficult to follow. They may include strict rules and a few could be hazardous to health. The two weight-loss techniques that are trending these days are alternate-day fasting or counting daily calories. A new obesity study suggests either approach can be effective for weight loss. Intermittent or alternate-day fasting requires routinely alternating between eating little or no food and then feasting in your daily diet.
In order to study the efficacy of these two diets and to know whether or not the new diet fad helps lose weight faster, researchers from the University Illinois in Chicago studied 100 obese adults between 2011 and 2015. The adults were randomly assigned to three groups. For one year, each group had to adhere to an alternate-day fasting diet, a calorie-restriction diet or no diet.
For the alternate-day fasting diet group, participants could eat only about 25% of the calories that are recommended for a daily diet on fasting day, which was about 500 calories, and they fasted every other day. Fasting days alternated with feasting days, during which each participate could eat up to about 125% of the recommended calories.
The current US Dietary Guidelines estimates that adult women need a range of 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day, depending on physical activity level. Estimates for adult men range from 2,000 to 3,000, depending on physical activity level.
For the calorie-restriction diet group in the new study, participants simply restricted their daily calorie intake to about 75% of what's recommended. Members in the fasting and calorie counting groups were provided meals for the first three months of the study and then were on their own for the last nine months, Varady said.
Throughout the study, all participants were provided with counseling on portion sizes and how to monitor calories and read food labels, she said.By the end of the yearlong diet sessions, those in the alternate-day fasting group lost about 6% of their original body weight, whereas those in the calorie restriction group lost 5.3%, Varady said.
Even though both the alternate-day fasting and calorie restriction groups experienced similar weight loss amounts on average, the researchers found that a higher percentage of participants in the fasting group cheated on their diets compared with the calorie-restriction group.The dropout rate in the alternate-day fasting group was 38%, versus 29% in the daily calorie-restriction group, the researchers found.The dropout rate is kind of alarming.
The researchers thought the alternate-day fasting would be an easier diet to adhere to because it allowed for a "break" from dieting every day but were a bit shocked to see that it was actually the calorie-restriction group that seemed like they could stick better to their daily calorie goals. Whereas the alternate-day fasting group, they were kind of wavering.
Not one diet fits everyone - To each his own
All in all, the new study showed that alternate-day fasting may be difficult to follow but can be effective in reducing obesity. However, "because it requires a major effort every other day, it is unlikely to be applicable to the great majority of the obese population, particularly in the absence of the close monitoring carried out in the clinical study," said the researchers.
For overweight or obese adults who might be interested in alternate-day fasting as a weight loss approach, Varady advised taking the time to really determine whether it is the best option.
"Alternate-day fasting doesn't seem to work very well in people who are frequent snackers. People who need to eat every two hours, they don't tend to fare well on this diet, whereas people that just naturally tend to go a long period of time without eating, like four to five hours; those people actually tend to do much better," Varady said.
"I really think people just need to find what works for them," she said. "Not one diet fits everyone."Additionally, fasting could be harmful for people with certain health conditions, such as diabetes - so consult your doctor before attempting any major changes in your daily diet, such as alternate-day fasting.
"I don't think there's anything magical to the diet at all," she said of alternate-day fasting. "I think it's just another way of tricking people into eating less food or helping people to kind of monitor how much food intake there is or how much food they're taking in."
(With inputs from ANI)
In order to study the efficacy of these two diets and to know whether or not the new diet fad helps lose weight faster, researchers from the University Illinois in Chicago studied 100 obese adults between 2011 and 2015. The adults were randomly assigned to three groups. For one year, each group had to adhere to an alternate-day fasting diet, a calorie-restriction diet or no diet.
For the alternate-day fasting diet group, participants could eat only about 25% of the calories that are recommended for a daily diet on fasting day, which was about 500 calories, and they fasted every other day. Fasting days alternated with feasting days, during which each participate could eat up to about 125% of the recommended calories.
The current US Dietary Guidelines estimates that adult women need a range of 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day, depending on physical activity level. Estimates for adult men range from 2,000 to 3,000, depending on physical activity level.
For the calorie-restriction diet group in the new study, participants simply restricted their daily calorie intake to about 75% of what's recommended. Members in the fasting and calorie counting groups were provided meals for the first three months of the study and then were on their own for the last nine months, Varady said.
Throughout the study, all participants were provided with counseling on portion sizes and how to monitor calories and read food labels, she said.By the end of the yearlong diet sessions, those in the alternate-day fasting group lost about 6% of their original body weight, whereas those in the calorie restriction group lost 5.3%, Varady said.
Even though both the alternate-day fasting and calorie restriction groups experienced similar weight loss amounts on average, the researchers found that a higher percentage of participants in the fasting group cheated on their diets compared with the calorie-restriction group.The dropout rate in the alternate-day fasting group was 38%, versus 29% in the daily calorie-restriction group, the researchers found.The dropout rate is kind of alarming.
The researchers thought the alternate-day fasting would be an easier diet to adhere to because it allowed for a "break" from dieting every day but were a bit shocked to see that it was actually the calorie-restriction group that seemed like they could stick better to their daily calorie goals. Whereas the alternate-day fasting group, they were kind of wavering.
Not one diet fits everyone - To each his own
All in all, the new study showed that alternate-day fasting may be difficult to follow but can be effective in reducing obesity. However, "because it requires a major effort every other day, it is unlikely to be applicable to the great majority of the obese population, particularly in the absence of the close monitoring carried out in the clinical study," said the researchers.
For overweight or obese adults who might be interested in alternate-day fasting as a weight loss approach, Varady advised taking the time to really determine whether it is the best option.
"Alternate-day fasting doesn't seem to work very well in people who are frequent snackers. People who need to eat every two hours, they don't tend to fare well on this diet, whereas people that just naturally tend to go a long period of time without eating, like four to five hours; those people actually tend to do much better," Varady said.
"I really think people just need to find what works for them," she said. "Not one diet fits everyone."Additionally, fasting could be harmful for people with certain health conditions, such as diabetes - so consult your doctor before attempting any major changes in your daily diet, such as alternate-day fasting.
"I don't think there's anything magical to the diet at all," she said of alternate-day fasting. "I think it's just another way of tricking people into eating less food or helping people to kind of monitor how much food intake there is or how much food they're taking in."
(With inputs from ANI)
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