2023-07-18 08:59:52
Which diet is more effective for weight loss, intermittent fasting or calorie restriction? A new American study compares the benefits of the two approaches without one of them clearly distinguishing itself. In question: the difficulty to hold in the long term, but also a choice of schedules of intermittent fasting not always judicious.
Whether we want to lose weight to refine our figure or for health reasons, we often get lost in the maze of different diets put forward by so many specialists or influencers on social networks. THE intermittent fasting and the calorie restriction are particularly recommended by specialists for their general health benefits. But what makes them different? A team of researchers from the University of Illinois, Chicago (USA), decided to compare the two methods to get to the bottom of it.
In this new study, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, the researchers therefore followed the evolution of the weight of 90 people suffering from obesity, according to their diet. To do this, the participants, aged 18 to 65, were divided into three groups: the first comprising people observing intermittent fasting with a feeding window from lunch (12 p.m.) to dinner (8 p.m.)a second with the people in front reduce their caloric intake by 25% closely monitoring their diet, and finally a control group who maintained their eating habits throughout the study. After six months, people who followed intermittent fasting such as those who performed calorie restriction lost about 5% of their initial weight.
Both diets also reduced waist circumference and fat mass in similar proportions. Convergence in the results which can be explained, according to the researchers, by an effect common to the two diets: eating less. In fact, calorie intake was in fine reduced to the same extent with both diets, despite different approaches.
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Intermittent fasting or calorie restriction, do you still have to stick to it?
In order to verify their results, but also the maintenance of weight loss, the researchers continued the study to reach a total of twelve months. Despite the equal effectiveness of the two regimens during the first six months, the rest of the conclusions show that it was difficult for the participants to follow them to the end.
Thus, during the second phase of the study, the scientific team had to adapt the protocol to maintain volunteer engagement. They increased the intermittent fasting group’s food window by two hours (from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.), as well as decreased the second group’s calorie restrictions (calculated on the basis of weight, height, age and activity level). At the end of the twelve months of diet, the participants had regained weight (- 5% at six months, against – 4% at twelve months), despite support from specialized health professionals. This included advice on healthy eating and cognitive behavioral therapy to reduce food impulses.
Thus, this study also shows that compliance with any diet is essential to sustainably maintain weight loss, and that support from qualified professionals helps to stay the course.
A study conducted in 2022 had shown all the benefits for weight loss that there could be combining a form of calorie restriction with intermittent fastingbut favoring a earlier time slot for food (see below).
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Meal times and weight loss
If this comparative study is only interested in the impacts on weight of calorie reduction and fasting, we now know that these two practices generate much broader health benefits ! Whether it’s for example the effect of calorie restriction on aging and cognition, or the positive impact of intermittent fasting on cardiovascular parameters, diabetes and nerve regeneration. Finally, note that caloric restriction such as intermittent fasting both have a positive impact on immunity.
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