Many people who are concerned about their weight and overall health may have come upon the latest trend in the dieting world known as intermittent fasting.
Intermittent fasting (IF for short) is an eating plan that focused on cycling between time periods of food consumption and fasting. While most diets focus on calorie consumption and eating or avoiding certain types of foods, the effectiveness of IF comes from the periods of fasting, when calories are lost.
The most popular variations of IF are the 5:2 plan and the 16/8 plan. The 5:2 plan requires that participants eat normally for any five days of the week. However, for the remaining two days, they are to eat a maximum of 500 calories each day. The 16/8 plan instructs that for 16 hours of the day (including when asleep) no caloric consumption is allowed (water, coffee, and tea are okay), but in the eight-hour period allotted, participants can eat whatever they want. Watching when you eat, instead of what you eat, is certainly a unique aspect of IF that has made it so popular. No longer will people feel guilty of eating a delicious Chick-Fil-A sandwich, as long as they are eating during the proper time of day.
While IF has been all the rage in tabloids, in magazines, and, even, on Dr. Oz, what do healthcare professionals, physicians, and scientists think about this new diet? Their answers, however, are not so cut-and-dry.
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The University of Florida published the results of a lengthy clinical trial detailing the efficacy of IF. Within some compliance of experiment parameters such as body weight, among others, it was determined that while there were improvements in productivity, weight loss, and reduction of oxidative stress (an imbalance of antioxidants in the body), the lack of consistent nutrition during the fasting periods often led to discomfort and difficulty in eating a calorie surplus during eating periods. These factors may lead to under-nutrition and a decrease in caloric intake overall that can lead to the more pronounced weight loss in some participants. Those who did not lose weight, even when following IF, simply overate during the allotted time, nullifying any net loss of calories made from fasting.
Research from the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) discovered that the over-consumption of calories overall on feasting days of an IF 5:2 plan will still lead to weight gain. Furthermore, Dr. Stephen Freehand of Duke University stated that the timing when food is consumed does not matter; for most diets, weight loss comes almost solely from reduced calorie consumption. To these scientists, the time frame that IF implements has no real causation or solid statistical link to neither a healthier lifestyle nor weight loss.
Overall, IF does have its effectiveness in maintaining a healthy and fit lifestyle because it prevents overeating and over-consumption of calories. However, sometimes, it may simply be more effective to watch what is being eaten. Regardless, only by trial and error can a person find out the right dieting or eating plan for their lifestyle goals in the long run.
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