Adherence and Dietary Composition during Intermittent vs. Continuous Calorie Restriction: Follow-Up Data from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Adults with Overweight or Obesity - PubMed (original) (raw)

Randomized Controlled Trial

doi: 10.3390/nu13041195.

Sandra González Maldonado 1, Tobias Nonnenmacher 1 2, Solomon A Sowah 1 3, Laura F Gruner 1, Cora Watzinger 1, Karin Nischwitz 1, Cornelia M Ulrich 4, Rudolf Kaaks 1, Ruth Schübel 1, Mirja Grafetstätter 1 3, Tilman Kühn 1 5 6

Affiliations

Randomized Controlled Trial

Adherence and Dietary Composition during Intermittent vs. Continuous Calorie Restriction: Follow-Up Data from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Adults with Overweight or Obesity

Sarah T Pannen et al. Nutrients. 2021.

Abstract

Although intermittent calorie restriction (ICR) has become popular as an alternative weight loss strategy to continuous calorie restriction (CCR), there is insufficient evidence on diet quality during ICR and on its feasibility over longer time periods. Thus, we compared dietary composition and adherence between ICR and CCR in a follow-up analysis of a randomized trial. A total of 98 participants with overweight or obesity [BMI (kg/m2) 25-39.9, 35-65 years, 49% females] were randomly assigned to ICR, operationalized as a "5:2 diet" (energy intake: ~100% on five non-restricted (NR) days, ~25% on two restricted (R) days), or CCR (daily energy intake: ~80%). The trial included a 12-week (wk) intervention phase, and follow-up assessments at wk24, wk50 and wk102. Apart from a higher proportion of energy intake from protein with ICR vs. CCR during the intervention (wk2: p < 0.001; wk12: p = 0.002), there were no significant differences with respect to changes in dietary composition over time between the groups, while overall adherence to the interventions appeared to be good. No significant difference between ICR and CCR regarding weight change at wk102 was observed (p = 0.63). However, self-reported adherence was worse for ICR than CCR, with 71.1% vs. 32.5% of the participants reporting not to or only rarely have followed the regimen to which they were assigned between wk50 and wk102. These results indicate that within a weight management setting, ICR and CCR were equivalent in achieving modest weight loss over two years while affecting dietary composition in a comparable manner.

Keywords: compliance; diet quality; energy intake; fasting; food records; intermittent energy restriction; obesity; weight loss.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

Relative changes in body weight by study group from baseline to wk102. Data are shown as means of loge percentage changes ± standard error of log percentage changes, with baseline values as the reference for ICR (n = 49) and CCR (n = 49). Intention-to-treat statistical analyses were performed using a linear mixed model adjusted for age and sex. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) between the intervention groups. Results on anthropometric parameters including body weight at baseline (wk0) and wk12, wk24 and wk50 have been published in detail before [13]. Body weight from these time points is shown here again to facilitate a better interpretation of body weight at the 2-year follow-up assessment (wk102). CCR, continuous calorie restriction; ICR, intermittent calorie restriction.

References

    1. Noncommunicable Diseases Country Profiles 2018. [(accessed on 1 May 2020)]; Available online: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/274512.
    1. Harvie M., Howell A. Potential Benefits and Harms of Intermittent Energy Restriction and Intermittent Fasting Amongst Obese, Overweight and Normal Weight Subjects-A Narrative Review of Human and Animal Evidence. Behav. Sci. 2017;7:4. doi: 10.3390/bs7010004. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Johnstone A. Fasting for weight loss: An effective strategy or latest dieting trend? Int. J. Obes. 2015;39:727–733. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2014.214. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mattson M.P., Longo V.D., Harvie M. Impact of intermittent fasting on health and disease processes. Ageing Res. Rev. 2017;39:46–58. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2016.10.005. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Longo V.D., Panda S. Fasting, Circadian Rhythms, and Time-Restricted Feeding in Healthy Lifespan. Cell Metab. 2016;23:1048–1059. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2016.06.001. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources