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Intermittent Fasting versus Continuous Calorie Restriction: Which Is Better for Weight Loss?

Qing Zhang, Caishun Zhang, Haidan Wang, Zhengye Ma, Defeng Liu, Xiaohan Guan, Yixin Liu, Yanwen Fu, Mingxuan Cui, Jing Dong

Nutrients · 2022 · ▲ 49 citations

Chronic inflammation Caloric restriction Intermittent fasting Human Systematic review Meta-analysis Review

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Abstract

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials and pilot trial studies to compare the effectiveness of intermittent fasting (IF) and continuous calorie restriction (CCR) in overweight and obese people. The parameters included body mass index (BMI), body weight, and other metabolism-related indicators. A systematic search in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science was conducted up to January 2022. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to measure the effectiveness. Publication bias was assessed using Egger’s test. The stability of the results was evaluated using sensitivity analyses. The significance of body weight change (SMD = −0.21, 95% CI (−0.40, −0.02) p = 0.028) was more significant after IF than CCR. There was no significant difference in BMI (SMD = 0.02, 95% CI (−0.16, 0.20) p = 0.848) between IF and CCR. These findings suggest that IF may be superior to CCR for weight loss in some respects.

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Provenance

Source: OpenAlex
DOI: 10.3390/nu14091781
Canonical: link ↗
Fetched: 2026-06-28 MST

Cite this

APA

Zhang, Q., Zhang, C., Wang, H., Ma, Z., Liu, D., Guan, X., Liu, Y., Fu, Y., Cui, M., & Dong, J. (2022). Intermittent Fasting versus Continuous Calorie Restriction: Which Is Better for Weight Loss?. <em>Nutrients</em>. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14091781

Vancouver

Zhang Q, Zhang C, Wang H, Ma Z, Liu D, Guan X, et al. Intermittent Fasting versus Continuous Calorie Restriction: Which Is Better for Weight Loss?. Nutrients. 2022. doi:10.3390/nu14091781.

BibTeX

@article{qing2022Interm, title = {Intermittent Fasting versus Continuous Calorie Restriction: Which Is Better for Weight Loss?}, author = {Qing Zhang and Caishun Zhang and Haidan Wang and Zhengye Ma and Defeng Liu and Xiaohan Guan and Yixin Liu and Yanwen Fu and Mingxuan Cui and Jing Dong}, journal = {Nutrients}, year = {2022}, doi = {10.3390/nu14091781}, }