Skipping meals at certain times of the day for a few months can slightly lower blood sugar levels in people with metabolic syndrome.

Scientific Claim

Intermittent fasting reduces fasting blood glucose by 0.15 mmol/L in adults with metabolic syndrome over interventions averaging 3 months, indicating modest improvement in short-term glucose control.

Original Statement

“The fasting blood glucose level decreased by 0.15 mmol/L (95% CIs: −0.23; −0.06) after the IF diet.”

From study:Unknown Title

Evidence Quality Assessment

Claim Status

appropriately stated

Study Design Support

Design supports claim

Appropriate Language Strength

definitive

Can make definitive causal claims

Assessment Explanation

The study design is a systematic review of RCTs (Level 1a evidence), which permits causal language. The effect size is small but statistically significant and reported with confidence intervals.

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

Unknown Title

Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis

Human

This study found that people with metabolic syndrome who tried intermittent fasting lowered their fasting blood sugar by exactly 0.15 mmol/L, which is a small but real improvement—just like the claim says.

Contradicting (0)

No contradicting evidence found

Source Study

Unknown Title

Score: 39

DOI: 10.1155/2022/6999907

Similar Assertions

People with metabolic syndrome who follow intermittent fasting see their body’s insulin levels drop, meaning their body is better at using insulin to manage blood sugar.

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People with metabolic syndrome who try intermittent fasting lose about 4 pounds on average after a few months, even without counting calories.

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After a few months of eating only during certain hours, people with metabolic syndrome see a tiny but real drop in their average blood sugar levels over time.

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People with metabolic syndrome who follow intermittent fasting see their body mass index drop by a small but measurable amount, meaning they’re losing fat relative to their height.

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