Skip to main content

Intermittent Fasting Safe, Effective for Reducing Visceral Adipose Tissue

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Jan 22, 2025.

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 22, 2025 -- Time-restricted eating (TRE) may not add additional benefit in visceral adipose tissue reduction over the Mediterranean diet for people with overweight or obesity, according to a study published online Jan. 7 in Nature Medicine.

Manuel Dote-Montero, Ph.D., from the Sport and Health University Research Institute in Granada, Spain, and colleagues randomly assigned 197 participants with overweight or obesity to usual care (education about the Mediterranean diet; 49 participants), early TRE (49 participants), late TRE (52 participants), or self-selected TRE (47 participants) for 12 weeks.

The researchers found no significant differences in visceral adipose tissue changes for early TRE (mean difference [MD], −4 percent), late TRE (MD, −6 percent), or self-selected TRE (MD, −3 percent) versus usual care. There were similar findings when TRE groups were combined. No serious adverse events were noted, and five participants reported mild adverse events. Across TRE groups, adherence was high (85 to 88 percent).

"These findings suggest that adding TRE, irrespective of eating window timing, offers no additional benefit over a Mediterranean diet alone in reducing visceral adipose tissue," the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted January 2025

Read this next

Pulmonary Embolism More Common in Children Than Previously Thought

THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- Pulmonary embolism (PE) is more common in children than previously thought, according to a study presented at the American Thoracic Society 2025...

Half of Youth-Serving Clinicians Screen for Substance Use Disorder at Every Well Visit

THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- Just over half of youth-serving clinicians report that they routinely screen adolescents for substance use disorders (SUDs) at every well visit...

Many Heart Failure Patients Do Not See a Cardiologist Annually

THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- About 40 percent of patients with heart failure diagnosis do not see a cardiologist annually, according to a study published online May 18 in the...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.