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. 2022 May 2:9:871682.
doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.871682. eCollection 2022.

Effects of Intermittent Fasting in Human Compared to a Non-intervention Diet and Caloric Restriction: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Lihu Gu  1 , Rongrong Fu  2 , Jiaze Hong  3 , Haixiang Ni  4 , Kepin Yu  2 , Haiying Lou  5
Affiliations

Effects of Intermittent Fasting in Human Compared to a Non-intervention Diet and Caloric Restriction: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Lihu Gu et al. Front Nutr. .

Abstract

Background: The popularity of applying intermittent fasting (IF) has increased as more and more people are trying to avoid or alleviate obesity and metabolic disease. This study aimed to systematically explore the effects of various IF in humans.

Methods: The randomized controlled trials (RCTs) related to IF vs. non-intervention diet or caloric restriction (CR) were retrieved in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library database, and Embase. Extraction outcomes included, but were not limited to, weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), fasting glucose, and triglyceride (TG).

Results: This study includes 43 RCTs with 2,483 participants. The intervention time was at least 1 month, and the median intervention time was 3 months. Contrasting results between IF and non-intervention diet showed that participants had lower weight (weighted mean difference (WMD) = 1.10, 95% CI: 0.09-2.12, p = 0.03) and BMI after IF (WMD = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.08-0.68, p = 0.01). The WC of participants after IF decreased significantly compared with the non-intervention diet (WMD = 1.02, 95% CI: 0.06-1.99, p = 0.04). IF regulated fat mass (FM) more effectively than non-intervention diet (WMD = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.17-1.31, p = 0.01). The fat-free mass of people after IF was higher (WMD = -0.73, 95% CI: (-1.45)-(-0.02), p = 0.05). There was no difference in fasting blood glucose concentrations between participants in the after IF and non-intervention diet groups. The results of insulin concentrations and HOMA-IR, though, indicated that IF was significantly more beneficial than non-intervention diet (standard mean difference (SMD) = -0.21, 95% CI: 0.02-0.40, p = 0.03, and WMD = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.04-0.65, p = 0.03, respectively). Cholesterol and TG concentrations in participants after IF were also lower than that after a nonintervention diet (SMD = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.09-0.35, p = 0.001 and SMD = 0.13, 95% CI: 0.00-0.26, p = 0.05, respectively). IF outcomes did not differ from CR except for reduced WC.

Conclusion: Intermittent fasting was more beneficial in reducing body weight, WC, and FM without affecting lean mass compared to the non-intervention diet. IF also effectively improved insulin resistance and blood lipid conditions compared with non-intervention diets. However, IF showed less benefit over CR.

Keywords: caloric restriction; effect; intermittent fasting; meta-analysis; non-intervention diet.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The flowchart for the retrieval process included studies in this meta-analysis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plots for the body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) of intermittent fasting (IF) vs. non-intervention diet. (A) BMI; (B) WC.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Forest plots for the fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM) of the IF vs. non-intervention diet. (A) FM; (B) FFM.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forest plots for the glucose, insulin, and homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) of IF vs. non-intervention diet. (A) Glucose; (B) insulin; (C) HOMA-IR.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Forest plots for the triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) of IF vs. non-intervention diet. (A) TG; (B) TC.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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