Fasting 16 hours a day enables obese people to lose weight and lower their blood pressure. Another way to eat easy to implement.

Why it’s important

For people who want to lose weight, some diets, like the  low carb diet, or a low calorie diet have shown their effectiveness. However, it is not always easy to follow such plans in the long run. Intermittent fasting 16: 8, which consists of not eating for at least 16 hours in a row and eating during the remaining 8 hours, allows periods of insulin to be very low, which decreases or prevents insulin resistance and contributes to long-term weight loss. And skipping a meal every day is often easier than changing one’s diet completely. What the researchers found

A recent study published in the journal Nutrition and Healthy Aging evaluated the benefits of fasting 16: 8 among 23 obese people who could eat anything they wanted from 10:00 to 18:00 but who, outside of this time, did not drink only water. Participants were followed for 12 weeks and the results were compared to those of a control group.

The results show that those who follow intermittent fasting 16: 8 consumed an average of 350 fewer calories, also lost 3% of their initial weight, and had lower blood pressure than the control group. However, the other indicators of the risk of metabolic disease (insulin resistance, triglycerides, homocysteine ​​…) were not different between the two groups. The researchers explain that the observed weight loss is not enough to see a decrease in these risk factors, but also that the study participants initially had good metabolic health. The results may have been different with obese people with metabolic syndrome.

Studies published to date indicate that intermittent fasting can reduce body fat and waist circumference within a few weeks and is accompanied by positive changes in genes associated with longevity and immunity, decreased oxidative stress and inflammation .

In practice

Intermittent fasting combines the benefits of fasting with the absence of deprivation and restraint.

There are different forms of intermittent fasting, each defined by the length of time one normally eats and the length of time one is fasting. For example, 5: 2 fasting consists of eating for 5 days and fasting for 2 days. One of the advantages of fasting 16: 8 is that it is easier to follow in the long run and is easy to implement by avoiding counting calories. Just choose the time period during which you can eat.

There are other forms of fasting (fast one day out of two, or two days a week …); it’s up to you to choose the one that’s right for you.