16:8 Diet Can Help You Lose Weight without Hassle (Study)

A team of U.S. researchers has tried out the 16:8 diet and found it effective in helping them shed weight. The popular fasting diet is believed to lower high blood pressure as well.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago asked two dozen obese individuals to stick to the 16:8 diet and document their results. The average BMI of the volunteers was 35.

Study participants were asked to eat whatever they wanted between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and fast the rest of the day for 12 weeks. They were allowed to drink water during fasting hours.

After the 12 weeks, researchers found that participants unwittingly trimmed their daily calorie intake, had lower blood pressure, and lost weight. On average, the group lost 3% of their weight and ate 350 fewer calories.

The study results were published in the Nutrition and Healthy Aging journal.

16:8 Diet Is Easier to Follow than Other Similar Diets

However, the diet brought no changes to insulin resistance, body fat mass, and cholesterol.

The take-home message from this study is that there are options for weight loss that do not include calorie counting or eliminating certain foods,

said the researchers.

Lead author Krista Varady explained that the name of the diet comes from the 16 hours of fasting. The latest study is in line with the findings on other forms of intermittent fasting diets.

Yet, the 16:8 diet seems more effective in helping people lose weight because it is easier to maintain. During trials on other types of fasting diets, more participants dropped out the experiment.

It is unclear if 16:8 can help dieters lose more weight than other diets. Study authors claim that the weight loss observed in the latest trial is slightly less than the weight loss in other fasting diets.
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