You Might Want to Stop Intermittent Fasting, Review Finds

Trying to lose weight is a journey in and of itself. People try drugs like GLP-1 supplements and diets like intermittent fasting. But a new review of studies has found that intermittent fasting may not be an effective weight loss method after all.

The review, published in Cochrane Library, looked at 22 past studies of 1,995 people. They compared intermittent fasting to traditional dieting, as well as to a control group who didn't receive any treatment. Per the findings, intermittent fasting made "little to no difference" when it came to weight loss.

Intermittent fasting, also known as time-restricted eating, is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. You eat exclusively within an eight to 12 hour window and then fast for the rest of the day. According to Johns Hopkins, there are several benefits to intermittent fasting, including improved memory and heart health. “Many things happen during intermittent fasting that can protect organs against chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, age-related neurodegenerative disorders, even inflammatory bowel disease and many cancers,” Mark Mattson, a Johns Hopkins neuroscientist, said.

It turns out there is a key to losing weight while doing intermittent fasting: calories in, calories out. You can eat within an eight hour window, but if you're still taking in more calories than you're burning off, it's not going to make a difference. As Johns Hopkins researchers found in a 2024 study, it was the overall amount of calories consumed, not the time frame in which they were consumed, that contributed to weight loss.

While intermittent fasting gets plenty of hype online, doctors like Baptiste Leurent aren't necessarily behind it. "This is yet another example of a misalignment between public perception and the scientific evidence," he told BBC, adding that the review "provide[s] a clear indication that intermittent fasting offers little benefit."