SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Research Shows Intermittent Fasting Works for Weight Loss:
Intermittent fasting can produce clinically significant weight loss as well as improve metabolic health in individuals with obesity, according to a new study review led by University of Illinois Chicago researchers.
"We noted that intermittent fasting is not better than regular dieting; both produce the same amount of weight loss and similar changes in blood pressure, cholesterol, and inflammation," said Krista Varady, professor of nutrition at the UIC College of Applied Health Sciences and author of "Cardiometabolic Benefits of Intermittent Fasting."
According to the analysis published in the Annual Review of Nutrition, all forms of fasting reviewed produced mild to moderate weight loss, 1%-8% from baseline weight, which represents results that are similar to that of more traditional, calorie-restrictive diets. Intermittent fasting regimens may also benefit health by decreasing blood pressure and insulin resistance, and in some cases, cholesterol and triglyceride levels are also lowered. Other health benefits, such as improved appetite regulation and positive changes in the gut microbiome, have also been demonstrated.
The review looked at over 25 research studies involving three types of intermittent fasting:
- Alternate day fasting, which typically involves a feast day alternated with a fast day where 500 calories are consumed in one meal.
- 5:2 diet, a modified version of alternate day fasting that involves five feast days and two fast days per week.
- Time-restricted eating, which confines eating to a specified number of hours per day, usually four to 10 hours, with no calorie restrictions during the eating period.
[...] "People love intermittent fasting because it's easy. People need to find diets that they can stick to long term. It's definitely effective for weight loss and it's gained popularity because there are no special foods or apps necessary. You can also combine it with other diets, like Keto," Varady said.
Varady has recently been awarded a National Institutes of Health grant to study time-restricted eating for 12 months to see if it works long term.
Journal Reference:
Krista A. Varady, Sofia Cienfuegos, Mark Ezpeleta, et al. Cardiometabolic Benefits of Intermittent Fasting, (DOI: 10.1146/annurev-nutr-052020-041327)
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 04 2022, @08:37PM (1 child)
Why is it necessary to shame people? Where's the evidence that shaming people was responsible for getting people to quit smoking? There's a difference between society viewing a behavior as unattractive versus shaming individuals for that behavior. Besides, there were many other factors. Holding tobacco companies accountable for their products and disinformation certainly helped. The availability of treatments to help people reduce their nicotine dependency and make quitting easier was also helpful. There are also regulations that make it somewhat inconvenient to smoke in public places. I'm just not convinced that shaming made a meaningful difference.
If anything, shaming seems to be more about the insecurities of the person doing the shaming than actually promoting positive changes. Smoking and obesity are definitely harmful, but the reasons people engage in harmful behaviors are often linked with mental health issues. One example is that people smoke or overeat as a mechanism to cope with stress. Shaming can actually exacerbate those mental health issues and make the problem worse. When people feel the need to shame others, it makes me wonder what they're insecure about and what their own personal issues are.
None of this means we have to pretend obesity is healthy. It's extremely unhealthy, and we absolutely should tell the truth about it. But there's a big difference between being honest about the dangers of obesity versus shaming people for being obese.
You complain about body positivity, but the intentions are good. Like I said, obesity is often linked to mental health issues. Body positivity is about trying to promote better mental health, which is absolutely a good thing. The problem is that there still has to be meaningful change. It's not helpful to pretend that something is healthy when it clearly isn't. Promoting better mental health is absolutely a good thing, but people also need to be encouraged to improve their physical health.
Let's be honest here; you're not shaming people because you care about them. You're shaming people because you want to feel better about yourself.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 05 2022, @06:03PM
The comparison against smoking fails because smoking creates smoke that gets inhaled by nearby people. Being fat really only effects yourself. People should be able to do whatever they want with their bodies so long as that isn't affecting people around them. "Hurting people's eyes" by looking ugly doesn't count.
The problem with mental health and obesity is poor diet causes mental health issues. I fixed my diet last year and my mental problems went away within 3 weeks (13 years of depression, anxiety, FOMO, motivation). I wasn't expecting that so it was an awesome side effect. If people feel good about being obese they aren't going to want to lose weight. Body positively is directly against weight loss. You don't do both because the positivity removes the desire for weight loss. You have a physical problem and a mental problem, yet solve your issues by distorting your view of the world to not see the physical problems. That's not a healthy solution. Fixing the obesity issues will help with the mental issues. That fixes both problems rather than masking them through cognitive dissonance.
The biggest problem is the general media. Normal weight loss advice is flat out wrong. Calories in vs calories out is complete bullshit. Our bodies don't set our food on fire then use the resulting heat and ash (that's what calories measure). We run on hormones and nutrients. If you focus only on calories you will get and stay fat. Insulin is the main hormone you need to keep in mind. When insulin is high your body cannot use your fat stores and everything extra you eat gets converted into more fat. When insulin is low nearly all excess energy is passed through the body instead of being converted to fat. If you believe carbohydrates are a necessary nutrient (something the media pushes) you will fail your attempts at weight loss. Cut the carbs, cut the fruit, and don't juice anything. The diet you'll end up on is meat heavy* with a couple veggies as spices/sides. You could also go vegetarian only but that'll require supplements and you risk IBS. Look into the history of the food agencies in America (discovering one reason why trust in authorities is so poor today) then go back to the diet before the food pyramid.
*Despite all the "eating meat means death" stories, meat is only 'bad' when pared with sugar and even then the problem is really the sugar not the meat. If you try to eat super foods and meat isn't on the top of your list, you have no clue what you're doing.