For people who are overweight or obese, cutting calories all the time works about the same as intermittent fasting when it comes to cholesterol, triglycerides, and belly fat — neither one has a clear edge.

Intermittent fasting might help lower triglycerides a little more than regular calorie cutting in people with overweight or obesity, but the difference is so small that scientists can't say for sure it's not just due to chance.

Intermittent fasting might help people lose a little more weight than cutting calories the usual way, but the difference is so small it could just be due to chance — overall, both methods work about the same for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.

People who try intermittent fasting tend to lose a little more weight than those who just cut calories continuously, according to several studies.

If you're trying to lose weight and are overweight or obese, cutting calories just two days a week doesn’t work much better than cutting them every day — the difference is pretty small.

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.