RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Intermittent fasting and weight loss
JF Canadian Family Physician
JO Can Fam Physician
FD The College of Family Physicians of Canada
SP 117
OP 125
VO 66
IS 2
A1 Welton, Stephanie
A1 Minty, Robert
A1 O’Driscoll, Teresa
A1 Willms, Hannah
A1 Poirier, Denise
A1 Madden, Sharen
A1 Kelly, Len
YR 2020
UL http://www.cfp.ca/content/66/2/117.abstract
AB Objective To examine the evidence for intermittent fasting (IF), an alternative to calorie-restricted diets, in treating obesity, an important health concern in Canada with few effective office-based treatment strategies.Data Sources A MEDLINE and EMBASE search from January 1, 2000, to July 1, 2019, yielded 1200 results using the key words fasting, time restricted feeding, meal skipping, alternate day fasting, intermittent fasting, and reduced meal frequency.Study selection Forty-one articles describing 27 trials addressed weight loss in overweight and obese patients: 18 small randomized controlled trials (level I evidence) and 9 trials comparing weight after IF to baseline weight with no control group (level II evidence). Studies were often of short duration (2 to 26 weeks) with low enrolment (10 to 244 participants); 2 were of 1-year duration. Protocols varied, with only 5 studies including patients with type 2 diabetes.Synthesis All 27 IF trials found weight loss of 0.8% to 13.0% of baseline weight with no serious adverse events. Twelve studies comparing IF to calorie restriction found equivalent results. The 5 studies that included patients with type 2 diabetes documented improved glycemic control.Conclusion Intermittent fasting shows promise for the treatment of obesity. To date, the studies have been small and of short duration. Longer-term research is needed to understand the sustainable role IF can play in weight loss.