Research
Hormonal
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.
If you are concerned about cognitive function while dieting, ADF might be a better option than daily restriction. This study suggests ADF may increase BDNF levels, a hormone linked to brain health and energy balance, during the follow-up period.
LimitedSupportsLOW confidence
Between baseline and week 32, BDNF increased in ADF (4,803 ± 2,480 pg/mL) but decreased in CR (-4,234 ± 2,453 pg/mL), with a significant between-group difference in change in BDNF (P = 0.016).
Why this rating
Pilot study, small sample size, long-term follow-up without supervision.
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) 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.Limited
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