Physiological and Therapeutic Outcomes of Intermittent Fasting versus Calorie-Restriction Diet in Patients suffering from Metabolic Syndrome

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to determine whether an intermittent fasting diet in combination with a CR diet results in better outcomes on risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome (such as lowering of triglycerides, fasting blood glucose, and blood pressure decrease in abdominal obesity and an increase in HDL-cholesterol and related weight loss for both male and female patients) than with a conventional CR diet alone. A 12-week retrospective case-control study was carried out and involved 78 females and 22 males who exhibited or were receiving medications for three or more conditions related to metabolic syndrome and who completed the study out of 120 participants at baseline. These were randomly assigned to either a conventional calorie-restriction diet or to an intermittent-fasting diet. Relevant baseline parameters were measured during the first encounter and were then repeated after twelve weeks. Professional contact was maintained on a fortnightly basis for both groups. Subjects randomly assigned to the intermittent fasting diet lost more weight than subjects on a conventional calorie-restriction diet after 12 weeks (mean ± SD, 5.7 ± 3.2 kg vs 11.4 ± 6.4 kg; p < 0.001). There were also statistically significant decreases in waist circumference (10.1 ± 7.2 cm vs 4.5 ± 3.3 cm; p < 0.001), serum triglycerides (0.31 ± 0.29 mmol/l vs 0.16 ± 0.16 mmol/l; p = 0.002), and systolic blood pressure (11.1 ± 8.2 mm Hg vs 5.2 ± 4.8 mm Hg; p < 0.001) and an increase in HDL-cholesterol (0.25 ± 0.16 vs 0.14 ± 0.15 mmol/l; p = 0.001). However, no statistically significant changes in diastolic blood pressure and fasting blood glucose were recorded. The intermittent fasting diet gave better weight loss outcomes (6.67% vs 12.35%) than did the conventional calorie restriction diet when compared to the baseline weight after the conclusion of the 12-week programme. The intermittent fasting diet was also associated with statistically significant improvements in four out of the six parameters measured and associated with metabolic syndrome. Longer-term studies are required to determine whether these outcomes will be maintained over longer periods of time assuming that there is compliance by the participants.