Fasting has shown many benefits, particularly in helping people achieve a healthy body weight.

A recent study has reinforced this notion, showing that intermittent fasting, specifically time-restricted eating, can help obese people lose excess weight and enhance their overall health.

Published in the journal Nature Medicine, the study conducted by a team of researchers from Spain aimed to find out how different eating schedules might affect weight loss and other key health markers.

The team followed 197 participants, aged between 30 and 60, who suffered from obesity. These participants were placed on the Mediterranean diet, a healthy eating plan that includes abundant fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats, and received nutritional counseling.

The participants were divided into four groups. One group ate only during the eight-hour morning and afternoon hours, another in the afternoon and evening, the third could eat during any eight-hour period they chose, and the fourth (control) group followed the Mediterranean diet without any eating restrictions. Used to follow.

The results were promising. The participants who did intermittent fasting lost an average of 2.4 to 3.1 kilograms more weight than the participants in the control group.

Different eating windows did not show significant differences in weight loss, which suggests that timing of eating does not matter as much as narrowing the eating window.

Improve health in addition to weight loss

The study also used MRI scans to measure fat loss, focusing on two types of fat: visceral fat (fat around internal organs) and subcutaneous fat (fat under the skin).

Although there were no major differences in visceral fat reduction across groups, those who followed the early eating period (eating earlier in the day) showed a greater reduction in subcutaneous fat than visible fat. Is.

Additionally, data from the glucose monitors showed that the initially time-restricted eating group had better regulation of their glucose levels, especially when not eating or eating overnight.

This suggests that eating earlier in the day may help the body process food and control blood sugar more effectively.

This study supports the idea that intermittent fasting, particularly with a focus on eating earlier in the day, may be an effective method for weight loss and improving health in people with obesity.

Time-restricted eating helps control calorie intake and can make it easier to stick to a healthy eating routine.