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. 2022 Nov 11;14(22):4778.
doi: 10.3390/nu14224778.

Effects of Time-Restricted Feeding and Ramadan Fasting on Body Weight, Body Composition, Glucose Responses, and Insulin Resistance: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

Sofia Tsitsou  1 , Nikolaos Zacharodimos  1 , Kalliopi-Anna Poulia  1 , Kalliopi Karatzi  1 , George Dimitriadis  2 , Emilia Papakonstantinou  1
Affiliations

Effects of Time-Restricted Feeding and Ramadan Fasting on Body Weight, Body Composition, Glucose Responses, and Insulin Resistance: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

Sofia Tsitsou et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Time-restricted feeding (TRF) and Ramadan fasting (RF) have been recently associated with several health outcomes. However, it is not yet clear if they are superior to existing treatments in terms of glucose metabolism, insulin action, and weight loss. This review aims to summarize the current data on the effects of these regimes on body weight, body composition, and glycemia. An electronic search was conducted in PUBMED and SCOPUS databases up to August 2022. Twenty-four records met the inclusion criteria and underwent a risk-of-bias assessment. The main outcomes were: (a) TRF may result in moderate weight loss in individuals with overweight/obesity; when TRF is combined with caloric restriction, weight loss is >5% of the initial body weight, (b) 14 h of fasting may be as effective as 16 h in terms of weight loss, and (c) TRF may lead to improved insulin sensitivity and glycemic responses/variability throughout the day in individuals with overweight/obesity. Concerning RF, only two studies were available and thus, conclusions were not drawn. TRF may be an effective nutritional approach for weight loss, and the amelioration of glycemic control and insulin sensitivity in individuals with overweight/obesity. However, more long-term, well-designed studies are needed.

Keywords: Ramadan fasting; body composition; body weight; chrononutrition; diabetes mellitus; glycemic responses; humans; insulin resistance; intermittent fasting; time-restricted feeding.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow diagram of included studies.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Domains of Risk of Bias (Randomized Controlled Parallel Studies) [39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Overall Risk of Bias (Randomized Controlled Parallel Studies).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Domains of Risk of Bias (Randomized Controlled Crossover Studies) [7,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61].
Figure 5
Figure 5
Overall Risk of Bias (Randomized Controlled Crossover Studies).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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