Ejercicio de Habilidad Verbal — UNMSM

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A large review suggests intermittent fasting may not help people who are overweight lose weight.

Examples of intermittent fasting include the 5:2 diet and restricting eating to a short window – often about eight hours – every day. The research looked at the results of 22 previous studies involving nearly 2000 adults to find out if short-term intermittent fasting (over a period up to 12 months) was better at helping adults lose weight than standard dietary advice, or no advice at all.

Luis Garegnani, lead review author from the Universidad Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, said he was concerned by the online hype around fasting. For him, intermittent fasting may be a reasonable option for some people, but the current evidence doesn’t justify the enthusiasm we see on social media.

But the researchers also agree that everyone is different, and some people could benefit. Doctors will need to take a case-by-case approach when advising an obese adult on losing weight.

The review, published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, shows more research is needed on other aspects of people’s health, such as the status of their type 2 diabetes and other underlying health conditions. Also, there were many different types of intermittent fasting, and more detail was needed on how they could impact men and women separately, in addition to those from different countries. The studies in this review took place in Europe, North America, China, Australia and South America.

Adapted from: Roxby, P. (2026, 16 February). Intermittent fasting may not help people who are overweight or obese lose weight, a large review suggests. BBC.

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