Objective: Lifestyle modifications (LSM) like twice-weekly intermittent fasting (TWIF) and 10-hour time-restricted eating (TRE) are used for weight loss. This study compares effectiveness and ease of adherence of TWIF and TRE, on 14-17-year-old adolescents with overweight/obesity.Design and method: 45 Volunteers (21 female) were divided into three groups: Control (16, 6 female), TWIF (13, 8 female), and TRE (16, 7 female), according to the volunteer's choice. The subjects of TWIF were asked to eat only one meal on any two days of the week. Tea/coffee, fruits, and juice were allowed during fast, such that total calories were reduced to almost half the normal intake. Subjects of TRE group observed a 10 h eating window. Anthropometric parameters (age, weight, height, body mass index or BMI, circumference of waist and hips, and waist-to-hip ratios or WHR) were compared at the time of recruitment and four months after observing LSM for that group. There were no significant differences in mean weight, height, BMI, and WHR of the three groups at the time of initiation of the study. After 4 months of LSMs prescribed for the group (no LSM was prescribed to control group), anthropometric parameters were again compared. Volunteers of IF and TRE groups filled a questionnaire related to adherence. Results: Mean weight, BMI, and WHR showed small, significant decrease in TWIF and TRE groups, compared to the pre-LSM values, and compared to the control group. Small but significant increase was observed in height of all three groups, showing that the reduced calorie intake in IF and TRE groups did not affect the longitudinal growth. Cheat days were more (one/week) in the TRE group compared to the TWIF group (one/month). Greater adherence to LSM was observed in IF group, but the decrease in BMI and WHR was almost equal between these groups. Conclusions: Both TWIF and TRE are effective methods of reducing BMI for adolescents. Adherence was greater in the IF group (probably due to religious associations), but the magnitude of decrease in BMI and WHR was the same in both groups.
Saxena et al. (Fri,) studied this question.