Do Fasting Diets Work?

Fasting diets, where you consume a normal (normal for human beings not normal for Americans) number of calories one day and then cut back by 70% or more the next, have become increasingly popular. But to they really help people lose weight?

A recent study done at the University of Illinois at Urbana and published in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that fasting diets are no better for weight loss than ordinary restricted calorie diets.

In a controlled study, 100 obese adults were divided into two groups. The alternate-day fasting group consumed 25% of their normal daily calories on fasting days and 125% on other days. The other group reduced calories by 25% every day. After six months weight loss was the same for both groups. Also, there was no significant difference in cholesterol, blood pressure or blood sugar between the two groups.

There is nothing wrong with fasting if it is something that you want to do, and it may well have other as yet unproven benefits. But don't expect it to amp up your weight loss program. As the end of the day, it all comes down to calories consumed vs calories burned.