Browse evidence-based analysis of health-related claims and assertions
Doing regular weightlifting reps with full rest between sets builds a tiny bit more arm muscle than doing drop sets on a smart machine, but the difference is so small it doesn’t really matter in real life.
Causal
Consumption of hyper-palatable processed foods, even at matched meal frequency, leads to adverse metabolic outcomes (e.g., elevated insulin, insulin resistance, increased adiposity) compared to whole, unprocessed foods.
Assertion
Reducing meal frequency from six to three meals per day is associated with a significant reduction in daily carbohydrate intake.
Quantitative
Prolonged overnight fasting (>18 hours) is associated with lower body mass index due to reduced total daily caloric intake.
Eating fewer than three meals per day is associated with lower body mass index (BMI) compared to consuming three or more meals per day.
Central adiposity and metabolic dysregulation (e.g., leptin resistance) can reduce appetite and lead to decreased meal frequency, creating reverse causation in observational studies.
Low meal frequency is correlated with unhealthy lifestyle behaviors (smoking, physical inactivity, heavy alcohol consumption), which independently contribute to central adiposity.
Muscle protein synthesis remains elevated for several hours post-exercise without requiring frequent meals to maintain muscle mass.
If most people in the study don’t have high blood sugar to begin with, intermittent fasting doesn’t make much of a difference in their long-term average blood sugar.
Descriptive
Intermittent fasting is easier to stick with than strict dieting because you don’t have to count calories—you just eat during certain hours.
Intermittent fasting helps the body use insulin better—about as well as a common diabetes pill called pioglitazone—without needing to take medicine.
People with metabolic syndrome who follow intermittent fasting see a small drop in their HDL (good) cholesterol, which might not be ideal for heart health.
People with metabolic syndrome who try intermittent fasting see their blood pressure drop a little bit, which is good for their heart health.
People with metabolic syndrome who follow intermittent fasting see a tiny but real drop in their triglyceride levels, which means their body is handling fat better.
After a few months of intermittent fasting, people with metabolic syndrome see a small drop in their LDL (bad) cholesterol, which is good for heart health.
People with metabolic syndrome who try intermittent fasting see a small but real drop in their total cholesterol levels after a few months.
After a few months of intermittent fasting, people with metabolic syndrome lose about an inch off their waist, which means they’re losing dangerous belly fat.
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.
People with metabolic syndrome who try intermittent fasting lose about 4 pounds on average after a few months, even without counting calories.
After a few months of intermittent fasting, the body’s resistance to insulin drops by a measurable amount, making it easier for cells to absorb sugar from the blood.
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.
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.
Skipping meals at certain times of the day for a few months can slightly lower blood sugar levels in people with metabolic syndrome.
A protein in the brain called BDNF plays a big role in how well we think, learn, and remember things.