Longer-term effects of intermittent fasting on body composition and cardiometabolic health in adults with overweight and obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
PubMed 39501676 · doi:10.1111/obr.13855
What was done
Authors conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials identified through PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus up to March 2024. The review evaluated the effects of intermittent fasting (IF) lasting at least 6 months against a control diet (CON) or continuous caloric restriction (CR) in adults with overweight and obesity. The analysis included 24 studies with 2,032 participants.
What was found
Compared with CON, IF significantly reduced body weight (WMD: -2.84 kg), BMI (WMD: -1.41 kg/m²), fat mass (WMD: -3.06 kg), fat-free mass (WMD: -0.81 kg), waist circumference (WMD: -3.85 cm), visceral fat (SMD: -0.37), fasting glucose (WMD: -0.14 mmol/l), triglycerides (WMD: -0.12 mmol/l), and diastolic blood pressure (WMD: -2.24 mmHg), while increasing HDL (WMD: 0.04 mmol/l). No significant effects were observed on insulin, HbA1c, total cholesterol, LDL, or systolic blood pressure versus CON. Compared with CR, IF produced small additional reductions in fat mass (WMD: -0.70 kg), body fat percentage (WMD: -0.59%), and diastolic blood pressure (WMD: -0.91 mmHg), and a slight increase in HDL (WMD: 0.03 mmol/l), with no other significant differences.
Why it matters
This review demonstrates that over interventions of 6 months or longer, intermittent fasting offers clinical benefits for weight and cardiometabolic markers that are largely comparable to standard continuous caloric restriction.
Limits
The abstract does not report confidence intervals, exact p-values, or measures of statistical heterogeneity (such as I²). Specific details regarding adherence, adverse events, dietary quality, and risk-of-bias evaluations across the 24 included trials are not described in the abstract.
Cited by
- partial Intermittent fasting can achieve a similar 5% to 10% body weight loss as the lowest dose of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic.