Research
Mixed
Fasting is defined as voluntary abstinence from some or all foods or beverages for preventive, therapeutic, religious, cultural, or other reasons, distinguishing it from starvation which is involuntary and pathological.
To fast, you voluntarily abstain from food and/or beverages for a specific period. This is distinct from starvation, which is involuntary and harmful. Your motivation (health, religion, culture) defines the context, but the core action is voluntary abstinence.
StrongSupportsVERY_HIGH confidence
Fasting refers to a voluntary abstinence from some or all foods or foods and beverages for preventive, therapeutic, religious, cultural, or other reasons.
Why this rating
Based on an international consensus of 38 experts using Delphi methodology.
Source
International consensus on fasting terminology
Daniela A. Koppold et al. · Cell Metabolism · 2024
DOI 10.1016/j.cmet.2024.06.013
clinical_guideline · n=38Cited 89×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Intermittent Fasting (IF) is defined as repetitive fasting periods lasting up to 48 hours each, including Time-Restricted Eating (TRE) and Alternate-Day Fasting (ADF).Strong
- Time-Restricted Eating (TRE) is defined as restricting food and caloric beverage intake to a specific daily period, resulting in a fasting window of at least 14 hours, with no explicit limit on energy intake during eating hours.Strong
- Short-Term Fasting (STF) is defined as fasting regimens with a duration of 2–3 days, while Prolonged Fasting (PF) refers to regimens lasting 4 or more consecutive days.Strong
Related findings · Mixed
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- For patients with Class III obesity (BMI >39.9 kg/m2), metabolic bariatric surgery (MBS) is significantly more effective than any currently approved medication, with BilioPancreatic Diversion (BPD) showing the highest estimated weight loss.Strong
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