A new study indicates that fasting in alternate days may be more effective in weight loss compared to other intermittent fasting systems or calorie -based diets.
Although scientists call for more research to confirm these results, a recent review indicates that what is known as a “banquet and fasting” system may provide greater benefits regarding weight loss.
Fasting in alternate days depends on refraining from eating for 24 hours every two days, and its popularity has increased in recent years.
Other systems of intermittent fasting have also spread, such as eating restricted time, as it is allowed to eat during a specific number of hours of the day, as is the case in the intermittent fasting system 16: 8 (fasting 16 hours and eating within 8 hours), or full fasting in specific days, such as system 5: 2 (eating for 5 days and fasting for two days a week).
Researchers from Scotland, the United States, Canada and Germany have sought to compare these methods with diets that depend on a continuous restriction of calories, by reviewing all available evidence.
The study included data from 99 research, which included more than 6,500 people, and the average “BMI” (BMI) was about 31, while 89% of them were suffering from previous health problems.
The results of the study showed that intermittent fasting systems and calories restriction lead to weight loss.
But when comparing the continuous restriction of energy, fasting in the alternating days was the only strategy that showed more effectiveness, as people who followed this system lost 1.29 kilograms of weight, according to what was stated in the study published in the “BMJ” medical journal.
The researchers pointed out that the effect of fasting on alternating days compared to time fasting or full fasting on specific days was “small”.
The authors wrote: “There were slight differences between some intermittent fasting systems and the constant restriction of calories, with a simple benefit to the fasting system in the alternating days, especially in short -term studies.”
They added: “All intermittent fasting systems, along with the systems based on calories restricting the calories, showed a decrease in weight when compared to unrestricted fever (free eating). Among the three fasting systems (alternating fasting, restricted eating time, fasting on specific days), fasting in the alternating days has emerged as the best in terms of weight reduction compared to the continuous restriction of energy.”