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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Science
Ian Sample Science editor

Intermittent fasting no better than typical weight loss diets, study finds

Male feet on glass scales
Analysis of 22 global studies found no strong evidence that intermittent fasting improved people’s quality of life more than other diets. Photograph: Andrej Safaric/Alamy

Intermittent fasting is no better for shedding the pounds than conventional diets and is barely more effective than doing nothing, according to a major review of the scientific evidence.

Researchers analysed data from 22 global studies and found people who are overweight or living with obesity lost as much weight by following traditional dietary advice as when they tried fasting regimes such as the 5:2 diet popularised by the late Michael Mosley.

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