Diet 16: 8, New Ways to Lose Weight

Many people are looking for ways to lose weight. Among the many ways to lose weight, an intake pattern or a 16: 8 diet may be an option.

The research team led by Krista Varady, assistant professor of kinesiology and nutrition at the University of Illinois at Chicago recently reported the effectiveness of the 16: 8 diet plans in the journal Nutrition and Healthy Aging.

Dietary pattern 16: 8 is a dietary regulation that allows eating only within eight hours of the day. The rest, or 16 hours, is used for fasting.


Varady tested intake patterns similar to the duration of Ramadan fasting on 23 people with obesity aged 45 years.

Participants were allowed to consume any kind of food they liked with an unlimited amount from 10 am to 6 pm.

After the 'breaking' period, they are required to fast food and are only allowed to consume mineral water or calorie-free drinks for the remaining 16 hours.

Researchers monitored participants who were on the diet for 12 weeks. The results of past observations are compared with other intermittent diets that are alternating fasts allowing one full day meal and the day after to fast.

Researchers found the dietary pattern of 16: 8 makes a person consume an average of 350 calories less.

In addition, their systolic blood pressure also dropped by an average of 7 mmHg. However, insulin resistance, cholesterol, and fat mass remained similar between the two groups compared.

"The results we see in this study are similar to those we have seen in other studies on other fasting diets," says Varady.

"However, one of the benefits of a 16: 8 diet might be easier to do by the community, we observed that fewer participants failed in this pattern compared to other dietary patterns," he continued.

"This preliminary data offers hope for a diet that pauses as a weight loss technique for obese people, but for the long term, (required) trials on a large scale," says Krista Varady, quoted from Medical News Today.

Beginners guide to intermittent fasting 16:8 fast