Intermittent Fasting Safe, Effective for Reducing Visceral Adipose Tissue

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 22, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Time-restricted eating (TRE) may not add additional benefit in visceral adipose tissue reduction over the Mediterranean diet for people with overweight or obesity, according to a study published online Jan. 7 in Nature Medicine.

Manuel Dote-Montero, Ph.D., from the Sport and Health University Research Institute in Granada, Spain, and colleagues randomly assigned 197 participants with overweight or obesity to usual care (education about the Mediterranean diet; 49 participants), early TRE (49 participants), late TRE (52 participants), or self-selected TRE (47 participants) for 12 weeks.

The researchers found no significant differences in visceral adipose tissue changes for early TRE (mean difference [MD], −4 percent), late TRE (MD, −6 percent), or self-selected TRE (MD, −3 percent) versus usual care. There were similar findings when TRE groups were combined. No serious adverse events were noted, and five participants reported mild adverse events. Across TRE groups, adherence was high (85 to 88 percent).

“These findings suggest that adding TRE, irrespective of eating window timing, offers no additional benefit over a Mediterranean diet alone in reducing visceral adipose tissue,” the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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