Intermittent fasting may not be as beneficial for weight loss as you may believe, according to new research.
A study published on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that eating within a specific time frame was not as effective for weight management. Rather, frequency and size of meals was a stronger factor in weight loss or gain than the time between first and last meal.
In fact, academics found that eating fewer and smaller meals overall may be better for shedding pounds, suggesting that the best way to lose weight is to simply eat less with fewer large meals.
Intermittent fasting involves switching between eating and fasting on a regular schedule. The eating plan is popular among celebrities, with stars like James Corden saying it helped him lose six stone.
However, senior study author Wendy L Bennett, professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, said that studies have not yet determined whether narrowing your eating window impacts weight control.
"Although 'time-restricted eating patterns' - known as intermittent fasting - are popular, rigorously designed studies have not yet determined whether limiting the total eating window during the day helps to control weight," she said.
"Eating less overall and fewer large meals may be a more effective weight management strategy than restricting meals to a narrow time window."
The idea behind intermittent fasting is that not eating for a certain number of hours each day, or eating just one meal a couple days a week, can help you burn excess fat stored in the body. This means that anyone practicing intermittent fasting may not start consume any food until noon and won't eat after 8pm.
Academics examined 550 adults with varying weights over a period of six years, evaluating the association between time from the first meal to last meal with weight change.
The total number of meals eaten daily that ranged from 500 to 1,000 calories were linked to rising weight over the six-year follow up, while smaller, 500 calorie meals were associated with decreasing weight.
During the six-year follow up period, meal timing was not associated with weight change. This includes the interval from first to last meal, from waking up to eating a first meal, from eating the last meal to going to sleep and total sleep duration.
The average time from first to last meal was 11.5 hours and average sleep duration was calculated at 7.5 hours.
The study ultimately did not detect an association meal timing and weight change in participants.
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