For weight loss

24-hour intermittent fasting is probably the most effective

Intermittent fasting is a current trend when it comes to weight loss. However, there are many different forms of this method.

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An international team of scientists including researchers from Graz has found evidence that fasting every other day may be the most effective way to lose weight. Test subjects were able to achieve a significant reduction in BMI (body mass index, note) in a test run.

"Intermittent fasting has established itself as one of the most promising methods. It basically involves certain periods of time without calorie intake." The most common practices are those in which, for example, no calories are consumed for 16 hours (16/8).

However, there are also such intervals with a 20-hour break from eating (20/4). "Another typical form is fasting every other day (...)." So far, however, there has been no study comparing the effects of these three types of intermittent fasting.

Obesity is becoming a global problem

The incidence of overweight and obesity is currently on the rise. The World Obesity Federation's 2023 Atlas predicts that 51 percent of the world's population will be overweight or obese within the next twelve years. That would be more than four billion people.

This is exactly what the research team investigated with a total of 25 test subjects* over a total of three months (four weeks controlled entry phase, eight weeks fasting). Eleven subjects restricted their food intake according to the 16/8 method, six according to the 20/4 method and eight subjects fasted every other day.

Weight gain in the 16/8 group
The results were most in favor of fasting every other day: the six subjects on this regime showed a significant reduction in BMI of 0.60 (kilograms divided by height in meters squared). In the 16/8 group there was even a small but non-significant increase in weight, in the 20/4 group a non-significant reduction of 0.35 in the BMI value.

This trend was also evident in pure body weight: in the group of test subjects who only ate calories every second day, there was a statistically significant weight loss of 1.9 kilograms. The 16/8 group gained a slight (statistically insignificant) 0.6 kilograms, while the 20/4 group also recorded a statistically insignificant weight loss of 1.1 kilograms.

*The test subjects were healthy people with a mean age of around 26 years and a mean body mass index (BMI) of 24.8 (on average just below the overweight limit). Various metabolic parameters (blood sugar, cholesterol, etc.) and body weight trends were examined.