What are the most effective hours for eating when you want to lose weight

The intermittent fasting diet has become popular worldwide in the last year. A new study examined - what are the best hours for eating as part of this diet, in which the study participants lost 6.3 kilograms in 14 weeks compared to only 4 kilograms on a diet with no hour limit.

A new study conducted over 14 weeks found that a diet that limits the hours of food consumption during the day (intermittent fasting diet, 16/8) gives better results and even improves blood pressure indicators.

A study was conducted by a team of scientists from the University of Alabama in the United States and its findings were published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. The researchers wanted to test the effect of the intermittent fasting diet compared to a regular diet among adults (aged 26-75) who suffer from obesity.

About 90 subjects participated in the study, and it was conducted between 2018-2020. All the participants were given a nutritional plan by the university's clinic, and none of them suffered from diabetes or other chronic diseases at the beginning of the study. The average age of the participants was 43, 80% were women, and 20% were men.

The participants were randomly divided into two groups: one group was required to consume the food for only eight hours a day - between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. The second group could consume the food for 12 hours - similar to most of the population. The participants were instructed to observe the hours of food consumption assigned to them at least six days a week and were asked to perform moderate physical activity of 75-150 minutes weekly.

After 14 weeks, the researchers found that the intermittent fasting diet led to reduced consumption of 214 calories per day compared to the group that consumed the food throughout the day, and the group members recorded an average weight loss of 6.3 kilograms compared to 4 kg in the group that consumed the food for 12 hours a day.

The researchers also found that a diet that limits the hours of food consumption led to an improvement in diastolic blood pressure and improved the mood of the participants who did a diet without limited hours. At the same time, no significant differences were found in the fat percentages or other factors between the two groups. The researchers noted that approximately 41% of the trial participants said they planned to continue this lifestyle even after the study ended.

"The main finding of our study was that a diet restricted in the hours of food consumption was more effective for weight loss than eating throughout the day," the researchers said. "In this study, the group that consumed food for only eight hours lost 2.3 kg more than the control group."

Chinese study: Intermittent fasting diet has no benefit

However, there have also been studies that have concluded that intermittent fasting does not have a distinct advantage over a caloric restriction diet and that reducing eating hours to an eight-hour window does not result in an improvement in metabolic indices. For example, a study published this year in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The study, which was conducted in China for a year, found no benefit in the intermittent fasting diet. The results of the study show that as far as weight loss and improvement in metabolic risk indicators are concerned, the way meals are distributed throughout the day has no meaning, and the total number of calories per day is what makes the difference. Nutrition experts are calling for larger studies to reach a definitive conclusion.

There are quite a few studies that have proven that intermittent fasting has no effect on weight loss, even though such a diet can cause eating disorders, binge eating and significant damage to the body's hunger and satiety mechanisms. In addition, it is difficult to maintain such a diet for a long time, and many times the pounds lost return again. A correct process of Losing weight should include a targeted treatment plan, with the personal accompaniment of a support system that combines a professional team - medical, nutritional and emotional - to change lifestyles and preserve the results over time."

Some clinical dietitians already recommended is not focusing on the calorie count but on the quality of the food: high quality, whole and natural, not industrialized and processed. She also noted that the limitation of the eating time frame of intermittent fasting is not suitable for everyone. "At the same time, it is possible to decide on certain eating limits that are not extreme to lose weight and eat healthier, provided that these are done in combination with a caloric framework. Some people, for example, will find that to maintain an orderly eating framework, it will be easier for them to start eating at 11 or 12 And not at seven or eight in the morning or alternatively create a realistic time limit for the last meal of the day."

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