Intermittent fasting is one of the most popular weight-loss solutions these days. However, recent research presented at a medical conference has raised doubts about the safety of the practice. It has been linked to a huge risk of heart-disease related death.
Intermittent fasting involves restricting food consumption to specific periods. Restricting mealtimes to eight hours per day was found to be associated with a 91% higher risk of death related to heart disease in a Chicago study.
An abstract of the study was released by the American Heart Association. The report was evaluated by specialists before it was published, according to the association.
The results of the study were questioned by several physicians who said that variations between the fasting patients and the comparison group, whose members ingested food throughout a daily period of 12 to 16 hours, may have skewed the results due to factors like underlying heart health issues.
Medical experts have stated that time-restricted eating is a common strategy for cutting calories. They have said many questions have not been addressed in the abstract and long-term research is required.
The study examined questionnaire responses in addition to death records from 2003 to 2019. It was conducted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and data from over 20,000 adults was taken.
It has been pointed out that there is potential for errors because the study partially relied on forms that asked patients to recall what they had eaten over the course of two days. The patients’ mean age was 48, with men making up around half of the group.
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