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. 2024 Jan 20;16(2):316.
doi: 10.3390/nu16020316.

Impact of Intermittent Fasting and/or Caloric Restriction on Aging-Related Outcomes in Adults: A Scoping Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

Dara L James  1 , Nanako A Hawley  2 , Alex E Mohr  3 , Janice Hermer  4 , Edward Ofori  3 , Fang Yu  1 , Dorothy D Sears  3
Affiliations

Impact of Intermittent Fasting and/or Caloric Restriction on Aging-Related Outcomes in Adults: A Scoping Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

Dara L James et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Intermittent fasting (IF) and caloric restriction (CR) are dietary strategies to prevent and attenuate obesity associated with conditions and aging-related outcomes. This scoping review examined the cardiometabolic, cancer, and neurocognitive outcome differences between IF and CR interventions among adults. We applied a systematic approach to scope published randomized controlled trials (databases: PubMed, CINAHL Plus, PsychInfo, Scopus, and Google Scholar) from inception through August 2023. The initial search provided 389 unique articles which were critically appraised. Thirty articles met the eligibility criteria for inclusion: 12 were IF, 10 were CR, and 8 were combined IF and CR interventions. IF and CR were associated with weight loss; however, IF studies tended to report greater adherence compared with CR. Overall, IF and CR were equivalently effective across cardiometabolic, cancer, and neurocognitive outcomes. Our findings suggest that IF has health benefits in a variety of conditions and may be better accepted and tolerated than CR, but more comparative research is required.

Keywords: circadian rhythm; dietary fasting; energy restriction; nightly fasting; time-restricted eating.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) flow diagram for the scoping review screening process [25].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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