Intermittent fasting has become a buzzword in nutrition circles, with many people turning to it as a way to lose weight or improve their health. However, new research from the Cochrane Collaboration shows that intermittent fasting is no more effective for weight loss than receiving traditional dietary advice or even doing nothing at all.
In this international review, researchers assessed 22 studies involving 1,995 adults classified as overweight, with a body mass index of 25 to 29.9 kg per square metre, or obese, with a BMI of 30 kg per square metre or above. The studies examined the effectiveness of intermittent fasting over periods of up to 12 months.
The authors found that, when compared with energy restricted dieting, intermittent fasting does not appear to work better for people who are overweight or obese and trying to lose weight. However, they noted that intermittent fasting may still be a reasonable option for some people.
Intermittent fasting is a tool for weight management that includes three main strategies:
Alternate day fasting, where every second day involves low or no energy intake
Periodic fasting, also known as the 5:2 diet, where one or two days of the week involve low or no energy intake
Time restricted eating, also known as the 16:8 diet, where daily energy intake is limited to a shorter window, usually between eight and ten waking hours
Previous reviews have found differences between types of intermittent fasting.
Alternate day fasting, for example, resulted in more weight loss compared with time restricted eating. This is because participants who fasted every second day consumed about 20 percent less energy than those following time restricted eating.
Cochrane reviews use gold standard techniques to provide an objective overview of the evidence. This review examined 22 individual randomised controlled trials published between 2016 and 2024 from North America, Europe, China, Australia and South America.
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