Regular eating, not intermittent fasting, is the best strategy for a healthy eating control

Abstract

Intermitting fasting has been proposed as a dietary strategy to improve general health indicators, slow or reverse disease processes and aging. However, data supporting the beneficial health effects of intermittent fasting mainly derive from preclinical studies in animals and short-term clinical studies on weight loss and non-communicable disease risk factors, with no significant differences on these outcomes when intermittent fasting has been compared with moderate continuous energy restriction in humans. No data are available on the effect of intermitting fasting on clinically important outcomes in humans, such as the onset of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and life expectancy. Instead, several studies found an association between delayed eating (i.e., spending many hours during the day without eating) and increased risk of developing episodes of overeating and binge eating. Moreover, the procedure of regular eating, adopted by the "enhanced" cognitive behavior therapy for eating disorders (CBT-E), results in a rapid decease in the frequency of binge-episodes in patients with bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorders. These data indicate that regular eating, not intermitting fast, is the best choice for adopting a healthy eating control and avoiding the development of unregulated and, in some cases, disturbed eating behavior.