University of Tennessee study: Intermittent fasting predisposes to early death!

Intermittent fasting and having less than three meals in a day or having meals within a narrow window period of the day have detrimental effects. It can cause early death. A new American study confirms this.

Intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting is when you fast for specific days of the day or for specific hours of the day. This type of eating is famous amongst the celebrities and elite class of the society. Often, they use it to lose weight or maintain their body shape. And there are some who have made it a way of life.

The diet does help weight loss. There are claims of health benefits. But a new study from the University of Tennessee has shattered those tall claims. The new study has stated that having less than three meals in a day are bad for health. This habit can cause early death. Moreover, skipping any major meals of the day also could lead to premature deaths. Also, eating within a narrow window period of the day loads the body and is a reason for early death too.

The University of Tennessee study

The Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has published this new study. This is from the university of Tennessee. Researchers studied the data of 24000 adult American individuals who were over the age of 40 years. Their detailed personal and medical history was noted. The research team also dealt in detail on the diet and eating habits of these individuals.

And the scientists found that those who had less than three meals in a day were also those who smoked more and drank more alcohol. Moreover, these were younger and of the male gender. There were more non-Hispanic Blacks in this group. They had lesser education and lower family income with more food insecurity. They had less calories, less healthy foods and ate more snacks.

The salient findings

The findings showed that skipping breakfast led to early deaths due to cardiovascular reasons. And skipping lunch and dinner had higher risk of early deaths from any cause. 40% of the participants has less than three meals in a day.

Moreover, those who had 3 meals in a day but crowded together in time also risked dying early. The body was loaded with glucose in a short period of time and therefore suffered. Dr. Yangbo Sun lead author said:

“At a time when intermittent fasting is widely touted as a solution for weight loss, metabolic health and disease prevention, our study is important for the large segment of American adults who eat fewer than three meals each day.”

She added:

“Based on these findings, we recommend eating at least two to three meals spread throughout the day.”

Also, read Intermittent fasting could be dangerous, says a new Canadian study!

The study senior author, Dr. Wei Bao revealed that the findings remained significant even after adjustments for dietary and lifestyle factors such as alcohol, smoking, diet quality etc.