Why fasting could beat calorie-counting for weight loss

People who did this lost more weight than those who trimmed their calorie intake every day, according to a study.

Intermittent fasting is more effective than calorie restriction for weight loss, research has suggested.

People on a “4:3” intermittent fasting regime, under which calorie intake was restricted for three days each week, lost slightly more weight over a 12-month period than those placed on a daily calorie-restriction diet.

Intermittent fasting diets have been popular with celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston, Kourtney Kardashian and Halle Berry, and many people prefer them due to the days when no restriction takes place.

Intermittent fasting diets have been popular with celebrities like Kourtney Kardashian.

In the clinical trial conducted at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, 165 overweight adults were assigned to a 4:3 intermittent fasting diet or to a calorie-restrictive diet.

In the research, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, participants who undertook intermittent fasting lost 7.6 per cent of their body weight, while those who restricted calorie intake daily lost 5 per cent of their body weight by the end of the 12 months.

Additionally, a greater number of participants lost at least 5 per cent of their body weight in the intermittent fasting condition (58 per cent) than the calorie-restriction group (47 per cent).

Victoria Catenacci, lead author of the study, said: “Participants in the fasting group also achieved more favourable cardio-metabolic outcomes including systolic blood pressure, total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and fasting glucose level.”

The research team said their findings suggested that because fasting does not require participants to focus on counting calories and restricting food intake every single day, it may result in “greater adherence” and should be considered within the range of evidence-based dietary weight-loss approaches.

Those fasting had to limit their calories by an 80 per cent energy restriction on their fasting days, meaning they would eat approximately 500 calories per day if their baseline was 2,500 calories daily.

Those in the calorie-restriction condition reduced their intake by 34.3 per cent, roughly 1,640 calories for a person whose usual intake should be 2,500 calories.

The participants were given a free gym membership and were advised to exercise for five hours each week. They were also given group-based behavioural support and received instructions on calorie counting and “macronutrient” guidelines for a healthy diet.

Adam Collins, associate professor of nutrition at the University of Surrey, said the findings “support the notion that, in the real world, intermittent energy restriction protocols outperform conventional everyday calorie restriction both in terms of compliance and results”.

This article originally appeared on The Times.

Originally published as Why fasting could beat calorie-counting for weight loss