Does the Energy Restriction Intermittent Fasting Diet Alleviate Metabolic Syndrome Biomarkers? A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of an energy restriction intermittent fasting diet in metabolic biomarkers and weight management among adults with metabolic syndrome. This randomized controlled study was performed with metabolic syndrome patients, aged 18–65 years, at an academic institution in Istanbul, Turkey (n = 70). All participants were randomized to the Intermittent Energy Restriction (IER) intervention group and Continuous Energy Restriction (CER) control group. Biochemical tests including lipid profile, fasting plasma glucose, insulin, glycosylated hemoglobin Type A1c (HbA1c), homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), blood pressure, and body composition were evaluated at baseline and at the 12th week in diet interviews. Dietary intake was measured with the 24-h dietary recall method and dietary quality was evaluated with the Healthy Eating Index-2010. Changes in body weight (≈7% weight loss) and composition were similar in both groups. Blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), fasting glucose, and insulin at the 12th week decreased in both groups (p < 0.05). No significant differences were observed in metabolic syndrome biomarkers between the IER and CER groups. The energy-restricted intermittent fasting diet did not cause any deficiencies in macronutrient and fiber intake in the subjects. Healthy Eating Index (HEI) index scores were achieved similarly in both groups, and subjects’ dietary intakes were close to daily reference nutritional intake values. The technique used to achieve energy restriction, whether intermittent or continuous, appears to alleviate the metabolic syndrome biomarkers activated by weight loss.

Effect of High-Intensity Interval Training and Intermittent Fasting on Body Composition and Physical Performance in Active Women

“…Fasting strategies, with a greater compatibility with the human circadian rhythm that leads to positive effects on cardiometabolic health [ 47 ], have been shown to also be useful, on the one hand, in reducing glucose oxidation and, on the other hand, by increasing fatty-acid oxidation [ 48 ]. Therefore, this state of metabolic flexibility could have a greater impact on the reduction of fat mass in individuals.…”

Individual Diet Modification Reduces the Metabolic Syndrome in Patients Before Pharmacological Treatment

“…Moreover, we used twice repeated 3-day 24-h dietary recalls to collect the data on nutrition from the Diet 5.0 computer program, developed by the National Institute of Food and Nutrition, to calculate the nutrition value of the diet. Finally, we had a low drop-out (8%) despite a relatively large group (n = 90) in comparison to other studies [ 50 , 51 , 52 ]. The main limitation of this study is that the study period was limited to 3 months, which only allowed assessment of short-term effects of the intervention.…”

Effect of Carbohydrate-Restricted Diets and Intermittent Fasting on Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, and Hypertension Management: Consensus Statement of the Korean Society for the Study of Obesity, Korean Diabetes Association, and Korean Society of Hypertension

“…Further, the framework of the population, intervention, comparator, and outcomes (PICO) in developing the focused question ( Supplementary Table 2 ), and literature selection and exclusion process ( Supplementary Fig. 1 ), as well as the summary of studies included in the meta-analysis consisting of 50 RCTs (66 articles) on carbohydrate-restricted diets ( Supplementary Table 3 ), 16 - 81 and eight RCTs (10 articles) on IF ( Supplementary Table 4 ), 82 - 91 are presented in the supplementary data.…”