Effect of a Six-Week Intermittent Fasting Intervention Program on the Composition of the Human Body in Women over 60 Years of Age

Abstract

The objective of this research was to determine the effectiveness of intermittent fasting (IF) in reducing body fat and lowering body mass index. An additional objective was to determine the feasibility of applying IF in overweight women over 60 years of age, which was assessed by the ratio of subjects who resigned from the diet plan. This study included a group of 45 women over 60 years of age. The intervention in the experimental group involved complete abstinence from food intake for 16 h per day, from 20:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. (the next day). The results demonstrated that the body weight in the subjects in the experimental group (EXP) group decreased by almost 2 kg and this decrease was visible in the remaining parameters related to body fat mass. The skeletal muscle mass did not change significantly, which indicates an actual decrease in the fat mass. The proportion of subjects who did not succeed in following the prescribed diet plan was 12%. The application of intermittent fasting in female subjects over 60 years of age resulted in positive changes in body composition. Time-restricted feeding (TRF) was characterized by a lower resignation rate compared to other diets involving intermittent fasting.

A Prospective Clinical Trial of Prolonged Fasting in Healthy Young Males and Females—Effect on Fatigue, Sleepiness, Mood and Body Composition

“…Intermittent fasting (IF) is a period of voluntary abstinence from food and drink without focusing on the type of food and drinks are consumed [ 1 ]. Studies show that IF is beneficial for weight loss [ 2 ], IF also reduces fat mass, but not skeletal mass in old females [ 3 ]. Studies also illustrate that IF reduces weight loss and insulin requirement in diabetic patients (both type 1 and type 2) [ 4 ], reduces inflammatory markers in cardiovascular diseases [ 5 ], results in improved peripheral and central blood pressure control in hypertensive patients with and without chronic kidney diseases [ 6 ] and reduces toxicity and facilitate effective chemotherapy in cancer patients [ 7 ].…”

The effect of intermittent fasting on mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes and metabolic disease with high cardiovascular risk: a systematic review

“…We did not find data evaluating the impact of intermittent fasting on different treatment strategies in patients with comorbid conditions. Intermittent fasting is shown to reduce BMI (Table 3), in some patients [9,10]; future studies can clarify and expand upon this data and examine more dependent factors. Glucose level, HbA1c, glucose tolerance improves during IF [22,23] which can reduce the need for hypoglycemic therapy and thus improves glycemic control.…”

“…Eleven studies included patients with T2D and none reported incidents of hypoglycemia connected to IF. Two studies reported reduction in body fat, but no significant changes in BMI [9,10].…”

Intermittent Fasting, Dietary Modifications, and Exercise for the Control of Gestational Diabetes and Maternal Mood Dysregulation: A Review and a Case Report

“…Similarly, a recent RCT prompted post-menopausal women to fast from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. (the next day) for 6 weeks. The findings of this study revealed a considerable reduction in fat mass (an average of around 2 kg) with no adverse effects on muscle mass as indicated by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry [ 90 ]. It is documented that obesity in old age is a key factor for insulin resistance and frailty [ 46 , 47 ].…”

“…Caloric restriction, the most common form of dietary restriction, involves reducing the daily intake of calories by 20–30% with an ad libitum intake of water [ 87 ]. The difference between fasting and caloric restriction is that fasting entails completely refraining from food for extended periods (up to 18 h per day), and may take place over the course of several days or weeks [ 67 , 90 ]. There is less emphasis on the caloric content of food ingested during non-fasting hours [ 67 ].…”