Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2025 Oct;35(10):104111.
doi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2025.104111. Epub 2025 Apr 30.

A fasting-mimicking diet programme reduces abdominal adipose tissue while preserving abdominal muscle mass in persons with type 2 diabetes

Marjolein P Schoonakker  1 , Elske L van den Burg  2 , Petra G van Peet  2 , Saskia le Cessie  3 , Eleanor Penny  4 , Mattijs E Numans  2 , Hanno Pijl  5 , Hildo J Lamb  6
Affiliations
Free article
Randomized Controlled Trial

A fasting-mimicking diet programme reduces abdominal adipose tissue while preserving abdominal muscle mass in persons with type 2 diabetes

Marjolein P Schoonakker et al. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2025 Oct.
Free article

Abstract

Background and aim: This study evaluated the effects of a fasting-mimicking diet (FMD) programme alongside usual care on abdominal visceral- (aVAT) and subcutaneous (aSAT) adipose tissue, and abdominal muscle area (aMA) in persons with type 2 diabetes in primary care.

Methods and results: 100 persons with type 2 diabetes using metformin and/or diet alone for glycemic control were randomly assigned to receive an FMD for 5 consecutive days each month plus usual care or usual care only for 12 months. The treatment effect of the FMD on aVAT, aSAT and aMA as well as associations between changes in aVAT, aSAT or aMA, and changes in metabolic parameters were assessed. 89 participants completed baseline visits including MRI. The adjusted estimated treatment effect after 12 months in the FMD group was a loss of 37.9 cm2 (95 % CI -54.7, to -21.0) in aVAT, 20.9 cm2 (95 %CI -34.5 to -7.3) in aSAT and -1.6 cm2 (95 % CI -4.6 to 1.4) in aMA compared to the control group. Changes in aVAT and aSAT were strongly associated with change in HbA1c and moderately with other metabolic parameters.

Conclusions: A 12-month FMD programme reduced both aVAT and aSAT, while aMA remained unaffected compared to controls in persons with type 2 diabetes. The decline in aVAT and aSAT was associated with a reduction of several metabolic parameters, including HbA1c. A monthly FMD programme yields various health benefits in type 2 diabetes and appears to be a valuable treatment option as adjunct to usual care.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03811587, 05-11-2018.

Keywords: Diet; Fasting-mimicking diet; MRI; Muscle mass; Primary care; Subcutaneous fat; Therapy; Type 2 diabetes; Visceral fat.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form at http://www.icmje.org/coi_disclosure.pdf (available on request from the corresponding author) and declare: financial support was received from Health∼Holland, Top Sector Life Sciences & Health, the Dutch Diabetes Foundation, and L-Nutra for the project; no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

Publication types

MeSH terms

Associated data