Some people think that skipping meals on certain days (like the 4:3 or 5:2 plans) could help the body use insulin better than just eating fewer calories every day, but we only have a couple of small studies to back that up.

Going without food on certain days works just as well as eating fewer calories every day to help your body respond better to insulin, especially if you're overweight or have early signs of diabetes.

Eating only on certain days or within a short daily window might help people with extra weight lose more body fat than eating the same number of calories every day, but we only have a couple of studies to back this up.

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.

If you're an adult with extra weight, cutting calories by either fasting some days or eating less every day leads to similar weight loss and health improvements — neither method works much better than the other if you eat the same total amount of food.

Skipping meals now and then might lower blood sugar and weight faster than just eating fewer calories all the time for people with type 2 diabetes.