Francisco J. Tinahones

A team in the United States conducted a clinical trial to study the effectiveness of three types of diets in people with obesity, prediabetes, and fatty liver disease. For approximately five months, 42 people followed a low-carbohydrate, high-fat ketogenic diet, a Mediterranean diet, or a low-fat plant-based diet (14 in each group). Weight loss was similar in all three cases, but those who completed the high-fat diet showed a better response in markers associated with diabetes and liver metabolic function. The results are published in Cell Metabolism.

A meta-analysis published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews concludes that intermittent fasting is not particularly effective for weight loss in adults who are obese or overweight, who showed moderate weight loss. This strategy also does not differ significantly from standard dietary advice or improvement in quality of life. The review included 22 studies with nearly 2,000 participants and evaluated various forms of intermittent fasting, including restricting food intake for most of the day and fasting every other day.