Research Reveals Intermittent Fasting Improves Heart Health and Promotes Weight Loss in Obesity - Video

A team of scientists has shown that intermittent fasting is an effective method for losing weight and improves cardiovascular health in people with obesity problems. Their work, published in the journal Nature Medicine, reveals that eating the last meal before 5pm and then not eating dinner at night is a safe and effective strategy for reducing subcutaneous abdominal fat, i.e. the fat just under the skin.

Researchers have investigated the effects of a 12-week intervention with three different fasting strategies: early fasting (intake sale: approximately 9:00-17:00), late fasting (approximately 14:00-22:00), and self-selected fasting, where people could select the time slot in which they wanted to eat, and did so on average between 12am and 8pm.

In this randomised, controlled, multicentre trial, a total of 197 people (50% women) aged 30-60 years participated. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three groups.

The results reveal that intermittent fasting showed no additional benefits over a nutrition education programme in reducing visceral fat. However, the fasting groups, regardless of the timing of intake, achieved greater weight loss, on average 3-4 kg, compared to the usual treatment group who continued with their intake window of at least 12 hours. Notably, the early fasting group reduced abdominal subcutaneous fat, i.e. the fat just under the skin, to a greater extent.

The study also assessed fasting and 24-hour glucose levels using a continuous glucose monitor worn by participants for 14 days before and at the end of the intervention. The results show that the early fasting group significantly improved fasting glucose levels and overnight glucose compared to the other groups.

These findings suggest that early fasting may be especially beneficial in optimising glucose regulation, which may help prevent diabetes and improve metabolic health. By not eating at night allows the body more time to digest and process nutrients, better regulation of blood glucose is facilitated, thus reducing the risk of developing sugar problems and other metabolic disorders, says Dr Labayen, principal investigator of the study in Pamplona and member of CIBEROBN.

Reference: Dote-Montero, M., Clavero-Jimeno, A., Merchán-Ramírez, E. et al. Effects of early, late and self-selected time-restricted eating on visceral adipose tissue and cardiometabolic health in participants with overweight or obesity: a randomized controlled trial. Nat Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03375-y