New study shows intermittent fasting doesn't work

[Fedorgasm]

Surprised they concluded that it doesn't work at all. I would've thought at the very least they would conclude that it works but only because it makes it easier to stay below a calorie limit. But I guess not.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/28/intermittent-fasting-doesnt-help-weight-loss-ucsf-study.html

A 12-week UCSF study of 116 overweight people found no statistically significant difference in weight loss between people who restricted their eating to a specific eight-hour period every day and those who didn’t.

 

[Badger67]

Statistical significance =/= clinical significance. I wish they taught this shit in stats.

"In this prospective randomized clinical trial that included 116 adults with overweight or obesity, time-restricted eating was associated with a modest decrease (1.17%) in weight that was not significantly different from the decrease in the control group (0.75%)."

Assuming a person was overweight at 200lbs (easy round figure to work with).

2.34lbs extra weight loss after 8 weeks.
Vs.
1.5lbs weight loss after 8 weeks.

This works out to 0.84lb difference, so basically a pound. Is it the biggest deal? No, not necessarily. Is it better? Yes. Clearly.

Also...."group was instructed to eat 3 structured meals per day, and the time-restricted eating (TRE) group was instructed to eat ad libitum from 12:00 pm until 8:00 pm and completely abstain from caloric intake from 8:00 pm until 12:00 pm the following day."

So one group is assigned a potential caloric deficit as per the design, while the other group is neither intentionally reaching a deficit that is identical, or a surplus. This isn't even the same damned thing now.

 

[Fedorgasm]

You make a convincing argument. So really we need a study in humans where they are given the exact same food and portions and the only difference is when they eat it.

 

[DEVILsSON]

Researchers have recently discovered thirty new substances in the blood during longer fasting periods of 34-58 hours that were previously unknown. Some substances in the blood increased until 34 hour mark yet others continued to increase through the full 58 hour window.


I also wish there was more differentiation between intermittent fasting where you eat at least once a day and those where you don't in the articles/research because to me there's a major difference. I could maintain 8-16 protocols indefinitely if I were so inclined. I can't imagine maintaining weekly periods of 36-72 hour fasts consistently.

Also the title of this thread should be "doesn't work for weight loss" or something like that because there are a host of non weight loss beneficial reasons people do intermittent fasting.


https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-36674-9


https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190131113934.htm

Fasting ramps up human metabolism, study shows
Date:
January 31, 2019
Source: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University
Summary: Research uncovers previously unknown effects of fasting, including notably increased metabolic activity and possible anti-aging effects.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/17/well/eat/the-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting.html

https://www.beingpatient.com/fasting-may-slow-down-aging/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6471315/

 

[Raffen]

It worked for me

 

[Badger67]

You make a convincing argument. So really we need a study in humans where they are given the exact same food and portions and the only difference is when they eat it.

It would give a better idea of what if any differences there are yeah.

If you are trying to compare 2 things that achieve essentially the same end result and you wish to know if there is a difference, the only two variable here we can control for baseline are total calories and time they are consumed. By failing to control one of these, we dont have a conclusion worth an undergrads 2nd year report paper.

 

[ImmigrantMentality]

That's all intermittent fasting is? That you have to eat within an 8 hour window? That's barely different than what the average person does anyways, I thought you actually had to fast for an extended amount of time

 

[Mimus]

According to some studies fasting seems to elevate the body's HGH levels quite a bit. I've seen some claims of up to 2000%. Hopefully some more knowledgeable posters here could give their thoughts and input on the validity of such claims.

 

[Blake_UK]

16:8 is barely IF. Minimum should be 18:6 or ideally 20:4.

Plus that's a pretty small sample with a lax protocol (ie the "fasters" could eat what they want whilst the other group had set meals) yet the IF group still lost more weight.

The benefits of IF (and longer fasts 24-72hrs) are well known and its an easy regime to follow.

 

[Fedorgasm]

Wow. Here's another article on the same study and they describe it differently.

The one in the op said the control group was on a structured diet and the fasting group wasn't.

Now this article claims neither group was told what to eat nor how much. And they said there was weight loss bit 60% was lean mass which the original article never mentioned.

Wonder if the actual study had been published online because clearly we can't rely on these journalists to accurately represent the info.

https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/new-intermittent-fasting-study-explained

 

[monkeyrhythm]

Wow. Here's another article on the same study and they describe it differently.

The one in the op said the control group was on a structured diet and the fasting group wasn't.

Now this article claims neither group was told what to eat nor how much. And they said there was weight loss bit 60% was lean mass which the original article never mentioned.

Wonder if the actual study had been published online because clearly we can't rely on these journalists to accurately represent the info.

https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/new-intermittent-fasting-study-explained

There's a link to the study in the first article you posted. As has already been said, it's not a good or particularly useful study.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/ja...links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=092820

 

[Brom Bones]

It fucking worked for me, so IT FUCKING WORKS. They can go screw themselves. Wankers.

 

[ocean size]

You make a convincing argument. So really we need a study in humans where they are given the exact same food and portions and the only difference is when they eat it.

Both are important. A metabolic ward study where calories remained the same and the only intervention was timing would be cool to get at mechanisms. But for actually investigating it as a dietary intervention, I think this study's design was good as it reflected how people actually implement IF when it is suggested and the control being pretty close to a normal diet - an app just said 'hey meal time'. quoting the methods here: the study intervention only included recommendations to the timing of food intake (no recommendation for calorie and macronutrient intake or physical activity), and participants received daily reminders about their eating windows through the app. The CMT group was instructed to eat 3 structured meals per day. Snacking between meals was permitted

Looking at the data, not very impressive for time restricted eating... They probably lost more weight than the control but at the rate of over a month per lb. The slow rate of loss might be a good thing though, on average majority of the weight loss for the TRE group was in the form of lean mass (vs fat) so the change in body fat % was negligible. The TRE group definitely lost more lean mass than the CMT group.

None of the health markers decreased either, well other than respiratory quotent by a little. So if an individual finds that it along with being conscious about what they are eating is something they can adhere to sustainably, that's cool. My takeaway here is that IF on its own is no silver bullet. Some calorie counting and meal planning would need to accompany it. I don't think that means it isn't a tool that could help people lose weight or get used to being hungry between meals when on a diet.

 

[Benji Snap]

lol 90% of the volunteers in these kinds of tests cheat their diet. They are already overweight. You really think that they have the willpower to restrict their eating for "science" when they can't even do that for themselves? <45>

 

[TidWell]

Surprised they concluded that it doesn't work at all. I would've thought at the very least they would conclude that it works but only because it makes it easier to stay below a calorie limit. But I guess not.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/28/intermittent-fasting-doesnt-help-weight-loss-ucsf-study.html

Not eating for long period of times isn't good either can cause ulcers.

Even when there is no food to digest, it continues to do its job at the usual time that you eat. “Prolonged periods without food tend to lead to acid reflux, gastritis and stomach acid. Excessive amounts of digestive juices might erode your intestinal lining and cause ulcers,”

I always eat my breakfast helps jump start the dumping process and gives me the energy I need to do stuff. The most I ever did was jogging early morning on empty but eating my breakfast right after my 40 minute jog on the treadmill.

 

[DEVILsSON]

My acid reflux improved with intermittent fasting if anything. Perhaps in very severe cases that may be true. I haven't had very many issues with acid reflux while doing 24-48 hour fasts. On a couple occasions I took a couple of TUMs(calcium) tablets preemptively.

 

[monkeyrhythm]

“Prolonged periods without food tend to lead to acid reflux, gastritis and stomach acid. Excessive amounts of digestive juices might erode your intestinal lining and cause ulcers,”

Do you have a source for this?

 

[ocean size]

Do you have a source for this?

just google it, a channel news asia article quoting a dietician. Meh. Falls flat on the face - as if our bodies will just keep secreting acid waiting for food lol.

 

[thehighking]

You make a convincing argument. So really we need a study in humans where they are given the exact same food and portions and the only difference is when they eat it.

It's bizarre why they didn't do that in the first place. Makes the study kind of pointless without it. I've had great experiences with intermittent fasting in the past and I know it's worked for lots of people.

 

[monkeyrhythm]

just google it, a channel news asia article quoting a dietician. Meh. Falls flat on the face - as if our bodies will just keep secreting acid waiting for food lol.

I did Google it, and found the Channel News Asia article in question. Was trying to give the benefit of the doubt in the hope/expectation that wasn't the only thing TidWell was basing his information on...