Research
Hormonal
Alternate-day fasting (ADF) preserves resting metabolic rate (RMR) better than daily caloric restriction during weight loss, as indicated by a non-significant decrease in adjusted RMR for ADF compared to a significant decrease for CR.
If you are worried about your metabolism slowing down too much on a diet, ADF might be a better choice than daily restriction. This study suggests ADF may help preserve metabolic rate better, which could make it easier to keep the weight off.
LimitedQualifiesLOW confidence
When adjusted for FM and FFM, RMR decreased significantly from baseline to week 8 in CR (-111.6 ± 36.9 kcal/day, P = 0.006) but not in ADF (-16.2 ± 36.6 kcal/day, P = 0.662) with a trend (P = 0.076) for a between-group difference.
Why this rating
Pilot study, small sample size, trend-level significance.
Source
A randomized pilot study comparing zero‐calorie alternate‐day fasting to daily caloric restriction in adults with obesity
Victoria A. Catenacci et al. · Obesity · 2016
DOI 10.1002/oby.21581
rct · n=26Cited 327×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Zero-calorie alternate-day fasting (ADF) produces weight loss and metabolic improvements equivalent to moderate daily caloric restriction (CR) over 8 weeks, with a higher estimated energy deficit but similar absolute weight loss.Moderate
- Alternate-day fasting (ADF) may lead to more favorable body composition changes (fat loss vs. lean mass gain) during weight regain compared to daily caloric restriction, potentially due to preserved resting metabolic rate.Limited
- Alternate-day fasting (ADF) leads to a significant increase in Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) levels during the 24-week follow-up period compared to daily caloric restriction, which saw a decrease.Limited
Related findings · Hormonal
- Initial treatment for type 2 diabetes should be a combination of metformin and either an SGLT-2 inhibitor or a GLP-1 receptor agonist to achieve cardiorenal protection, rather than monotherapy or older agents like sulfonylureas.Strong
- For patients with specific monogenic obesity syndromes (leptin deficiency, POMC/PCSK1/LEPR mutations), targeted pharmacotherapy (recombinant leptin or setmelanotide) is highly effective and should be prioritized, unlike in polygenic obesity.Strong
- Continued weekly administration of 2.4 mg subcutaneous semaglutide prevents weight regain and promotes further weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity, whereas switching to placebo results in significant weight regain.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →