New study shows that both time and calorie restriction worked almost the same in keeping the pounds away. However, experts say that no weight loss strategy can be effective if it doesn’t factor in body composition analysis, what you eat and physical exercise
New study shows that both time and calorie restriction worked almost the same in keeping the pounds away.New study shows that both time and calorie restriction worked almost the same in keeping the pounds away.
Intermittent fasting (IF) or restricting your eating time window to about eight hours a day has taken off in popularity in recent years only because traditional weight loss advice, which involves counting calories per meal, seems difficult to adhere to, particularly during a busy workday. Also, it has worked for short-term weight loss with people eating less but now latest research says that it can even work for a longer time and may be just as good as a calorie-counted diet.
According to the research led by Prof Krista Varady, a professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois, Chicago, intermittent fasting can help people lose weight and keep it away over the course of a year, with effects similar to tracking calories. The results of the clinical trial were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Of course, the weight loss wasn’t dramatic — equivalent to about five per cent of body weight — but researchers were encouraged that people could sustain intermittent fasting over a long stretch of time. “This study has the most compelling results suggesting that people can stick with it, that it’s not a fad diet in the sense that people can do it for three months and they fall off the wagon for a year,” said Varady.
IT’S REALLY A MATTER OF CONVENIENCE
Evaluating the study, Dr Ambrish Mithal, Chairman of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Max Healthcare, says, “So far there has been no clinical translation of the theory of intermittent fasting. Every randomised study that has compared IF with calorie restriction has reported weight loss, significantly not different from the other. This study is different in the sense that researchers did not instruct the IF test participants to restrict their calories but they ended up reducing their daily intake anyway, by around 400 calories — the same amount as the calorie-counting group. One group could eat only between noon and 8 pm, another had to count calories and cut daily energy intake by 25 per cent and the third group didn’t make any changes to their eating. After six months of weight loss, factoring in the possibility of a plateau, the eating window was extended from eight to 10 hours in the intermittent fasting group and the caloric intake was raised in the calorie restriction group. The IF group lost about 10 pounds more while those who counted their calories lost about 12 pounds more, according to the study. This difference is not statistically significant. So time restricted eating can lead to natural calorie restriction too because you are cutting out extra calorie sources like snacking or a late dinner.”
The two formats cannot be much different because, as Dr Mithal says, both are based on the theory of restriction encouraging cellular repair and mobilising fat. “Therefore, choose what suits you the best. While some might find IF easier to adhere to, others with gastro-intestinal issues like acidity may not find it worthwhile. For them the other format works better. Besides, weight loss management cannot be solely dependent on diet. You have to factor in the level of physical activity and sleep,” he says.
FOOD COMPOSITION AND CALORIE LOAD DISTRIBUTION ARE THE KEY
Bhakti Samant, Chief Dietician, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai, however, feels that all research papers comparing IF and calorie counting do not factor in equally important determinants such as body weight composition and what you should eat. “The research only tells you when to eat and doesn’t tell you what to eat. More than the calories, what matters is the composition of the meal. Without that guidance, most Indians tend to go low on protein and disproportionately seek satiety with more carbohydrates and fat,” she says.
Indians, she feels, anyway naturally skip breakfast or do not load themselves up at all in the first half of the day. And IF supports this format. “However, we tend to pack our heaviest meals between the afternoon and late evening, when our metabolism tends to slow down. Weight gain in Indians happens because of this overload,” says Samant.
That’s why she believes that the “big breakfast” study, which calls for early time restricted feeding or packing in the greater part of the body’s caloric needs in the early part of the day, is more favourable. “End early, keep the eight-hour eating window to the first half of the day. This works better than intermittent fasting. Divide your calories across three meals. Have maximum calories during breakfast and the lowest calories at dinner. What time of the day you eat and what your sleep patterns are matter a lot,” she says. The University of Aberdeen team behind the “big breakfast” study had found that people had a decreased appetite through the day after big breakfasts, which could make it easier to stick to a diet.
She also feels that we have to give equal weightage to body fat composition. “If your calorie intake is low, you will lose weight. But does the slower metabolism and diet restriction mean you are losing fat or muscle. You need protein to build and hold lean muscle mass. If that dips, the fat ratio just goes up,” adds Samant.
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