Intermittent fasting which once was considered an important factor in weight loss may not have any significant impact as per a recent study.

The research paper published in the Journal of the American Heart Association claims that there is no association between eating intervals and weight change.

Intermittent fasting is an eating plan where an individual switches between eating and fasting at regular intervals. Earlier, when the researchers claimed that fasting was good for managing weight, it rapidly became a trend among people.

In the new study, researchers monitored the timing of meals and sleeping patterns of 547 people over the course of 6.3 years. The participants were advised to use the mobile application ‘Daily24’ to record their lifestyle habits. They also collected the health records of the participants for the past 10 years.

The researchers found a higher BMI (body mass index) in older participants. These participants suffered from diabetes or hypertension. They took longer breaks between dinner and sleep and consumed fewer fruits and vegetables in their diet. They were also less educated and indulged in lower physical activities.

The study concluded that the frequency of meals consumed in a day had a significant impact on the weight of an individual. However, there was no association found between the time interval between the first and last meal and the overall weight change.

The takeaway was that the use of time restricted eating was ineffective as a strategy for long term weight loss. As opposed to restricting eating times, researchers suggest limiting the frequency of large meals to prevent weight gain.

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Author

Insha Dar

Insha Mushtaq, a health reporter for The Health Leads, hails originally from Srinagar, Kashmir. She possesses an uncanny ability to distill complex issues into accessible and engaging articles. In addition, Insha holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Media from Mumbai University and is currently pursuing a Master's in Convergent Journalism at the Central University of Kashmir.

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