Is intermittent fasting as healthy as celebrities claim?

Intermittent fasting has been one of the diet trends that many celebrities have recommended for quite a while for its range of short-term benefits revealed in recent studies.

However, a new study has linked the diet to some concerns that may outweigh its benefits in the long run, Science Alert reported.

One form of this popular dietary intervention, known as time-restricted eating (TRE), is a popular dietary intervention where individuals limit their food intake to eight hours or less daily and fast for 16 hours or more.

While some individuals use TRE under medical supervision to address health issues, many take it upon themselves to fast-track weight loss without medical advice.

Celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, Hugh Jackman, and Kourtney Kardashian among others promote this diet as a way of controlling physique.

A research by a team in China indicates that TRE can lead to serious long-term effects, including cardiovascular disease and early death.

"We found that people who followed eight hour TRE had higher cardiovascular mortality, both in the general population and in people who have cancer and cardiovascular disease as a baseline," says epidemiologist Victor Zhong, from Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Research on cardiovascular benefits is limited to studies conducted over less than a year, according to Zhong.

He suggests that focusing on what people eat may be “more important” than when they eat, as there are numerous dietary choices that can lower cardiovascular death risk.

The study found that TRE did not reduce early death risk. Additionally, it revealed that eating over 16 hours or more during the day for cancer patients was linked to a reduction in cancer-related mortality.

"Although the study identified an association between an eight-hour eating window and cardiovascular death, this does not mean that time-restricted eating caused cardiovascular death," Zhong explains.

The team also found that individuals who adhered to TRE had lower lean muscle mass, which is a potential risk factor for cardiovascular mortality, but Zhong says that further research is needed to fully comprehend these findings.