Weight loss demands discipline, determination and consistency. In the recent years, Intermittent Fasting (IF) has become extremely popular way to shed those extra kilos. Many diets focus on what to eat, but intermittent fasting is all about when you eat.
Intermittent fasting is an eating plan that switches between fasting and eating on a regular schedule. Studies suggest that IF is a way to manage your weight and prevent — or even reverse — some forms of disease.
A recent report by Financial Times reveals that people who fasted three days a week lost more than 50 per cent more weight than counterparts on a regular reduced-calorie diet. The report revealed that the intermittent fasters shed 7.6 per cent of their body mass over one year versus 5 per cent for those on the restricted daily intake, suggesting that this pattern of food abstinence might be a more effective approach for weight loss.
Dieting strategies are of growing interest to health authorities as well as individuals, after a surge in obesity over the past 30 years that is estimated to affect more than 1bn people worldwide, Financial Times reported.
“We think fasting three days a week might be a sort of sweet spot for weight loss,” said Victoria Catenacci, the research’s co-lead author and an associate professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
Citing a recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on Monday, the report revealed that the three-day-a-week fasters — known as the 4:3 group — went on a diet to reduce their energy intake by 80 per cent from a set baseline on those days.
According to the researchers, the intermittent fasters lost 7.7kg over the course of the year, versus 4.8kg for the calorie restrictors.
The latest study reaffirmed that intermittent energy restriction could be an “effective and sustainable weight loss intervention”, said Adam Collins, associate professor of nutrition at the University of Surrey as quoted by Financial Times.