The Study
A Brief Web-Based and Mobile Intervention of Intermittent Fasting With Meal Support for Weight Loss Among Adults With Overweight and Obesity in Japan: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
This study is like a fair test where half the people got a special app and free meals to fast one day a week, and the other half just got regular health tips. The group with the app lost a little weight, so we can say this specific program probably helped. But we can't say all fasting diets work the same way.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
People used an app that gave them a low-calorie meal once a week to fast, while others just got health tips. After 12 weeks, the fasting group lost a little weight.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 575 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Losing 1.6 kg is modest — about the weight of a large bag of sugar — but losing muscle while not losing fat may not be healthy long-term.
- 2The fasting group lost 1.6 kg more than the other group, but also lost 1.3 kg of muscle, felt hungrier, more tired, and had stronger food cravings.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
JMIR mHealth and uHealth
Year
2024
Authors
Takashi Noda, T. Shimamoto, K. Kiyohara, Mie Imanaka, N. Nishioka, Y. Tateyama, T. Iwami
Related Content
Claims (6)
Adults with overweight or obesity in Japan who use a brief web and mobile program based on intermittent fasting and meal support lose weight.
In Japanese adults with overweight or obesity, a 12-week online program using weekly 407-kcal meal replacements, guidance, and app messages led to 1.6 kg more weight loss than minimal care, with 79% adherence and no serious side effects.
Among Japanese adults with overweight or obesity, a 12-week web-based intermittent fasting program that included weekly meal replacements resulted in an average loss of 1.3 kilograms of muscle mass compared to a control group, with no corresponding loss of fat mass.
In a 12-week study, 79% of Japanese adults with overweight or obesity followed a weekly one-day intermittent fasting plan using meal replacements, showing that this structured, app-supported approach was feasible for them.
In Japanese adults with overweight or obesity, a 12-week web-based intermittent fasting program using meal replacements led to higher reports of hunger, fatigue, and cravings than minimal care.
In Japanese adults with overweight or obesity, a 12-week web-based intermittent fasting program using meal replacements did not change levels of HbA1c, triglycerides, cholesterol, or quality of life.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.