Intermittent Fasting Seems to Have Little to No Effect for Adults With Overweight, Obesity

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 18, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Intermittent fasting seems to yield little to no difference in weight loss or quality of life for adults with overweight or obesity, according to a review published online Feb. 16 in the Cochrane Database.

Luis I. Garegnani, Ph.D., from the Universidad Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires in Argentina, and colleagues conducted a systematic review to examine the benefits and harms of intermittent fasting versus regular dietary advice, no intervention, or waiting list for adults with overweight or obesity.

Twenty-two studies were included, with 1,995 participants. The researchers found that intermittent fasting may result in little to no difference in percentage from baseline weight loss compared with regular dietary advice. The evidence was very uncertain, but intermittent fasting may have little to no effect on achieving a 5 percent reduction in body weight, little to no difference in quality of life, and little to no effect on adverse events. Compared with no intervention or waiting list, intermittent fasting was likely to yield little to no difference in percentage weight loss from baseline, in quality of life, and in adverse events.

“With the current evidence available, it’s hard to make a general recommendation,” senior author Eva Madrid, from the Cochrane Evidence Synthesis Unit Iberoamerica, said in a statement. “Doctors will need to take a case-by-case approach when advising an overweight adult on losing weight.”

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