There is now preliminary scientific evidence that supports the 16:8 diet, which can be another effective weight loss tool. According to a study, fasting every day is effective for reducing weight and lowering blood pressure. The study examined how time-restricted eating affected weight loss in obese individuals. Time-restricted eating is a type of fasting which limits the consumption of food to a select amount of hours each day.[1]
The researchers monitored 23 obese individuals with an average BMI of 35 and an average age of 45 for a period of 12 weeks. The participants could consume any quantity and type of food they wanted to for 8 hours between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., but only water or calorie-free beverages were allowed to be consumed for the other 16 hours.
When compared to a similarly matched control group from a prior weight loss study on a different kind of fasting, it was found that fewer calories were consumed by individuals following the time-restricted diet. They also lost weight and their blood pressure improved. On average, about 350 fewer calories were consumed, about 3% body weight lost and systolic blood pressure reduced by about 7 mm Hg. All other measures, which included cholesterol, insulin resistance and fat mass were similar to the control group.
Although this is the 1st study to examine the 16:8 diet (16 hours of fasting : 8 hours of feasting), the results reinforce the results of previous studies on other kinds of intermittent fasting diets. Previous research has indicated that daily fasting to be effective for weight loss, but there haven’t been studies that have shown if it’s more effective than other diets.
The results from this study are similar to that seen in other kinds of alternate day fasting studies, but a major benefit of the 16:8 diet could be that it’s easier to maintain. Fewer individuals dropped out of this study in comparison to other fasting diet studies. The results clearly show that there are weight loss options that do not include calorie counting or the elimination of certain foods even though the weight loss was a bit less than in other studies on intermittent fasting diets.
