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Updated: Oct 21, 2025

Assessment of the Metabolic Effects of Isocaloric 2:1 Intermittent Fasting in Mice
Published on: November 27, 2019
Intermittent Versus Continuous Energy Restriction for Weight Loss and Metabolic Improvement: A Meta-Analysis and
Shasha He1, Jiao Wang1, Jie Zhang1
1Department of Endocrine and Metabolism, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, People's Republic of China.
Objective:
This study aimed to evaluate the effects of intermittent energy restriction (IER; only for 2-3 d/wk) versus continuous energy restriction (CER) on weight loss and metabolic outcomes in adults with overweight or obesity.
Methods:
Methods included searching databases from the last decade to December 18, 2019, for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that assessed weight loss and metabolic outcomes in IER and CER. RevMan version 5.3 software was used for statistical analysis of the data. The effect sizes were expressed as weight mean differences and 95% CI.
Results:
This review included 11 RCTs (n = 850). Meta-analysis showed that IER had greater effects on absolute weight loss, the percentage of weight loss, and improving insulin sensitivity than CER. In the subgroup analysis, short-term (2-3 months) intervention (P < 0.0001) was associated with weight loss.
Conclusions:
This systematic review shows that IER (2-3 d/wk) had greater effects on short-term weight loss than CER and that IER results in comparative metabolic improvements. Furthermore, longer RCTs are needed to validate these findings.
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