Did you see the study about fasting?

Headlines this week claimed that time-restricted eating (the scientific term for intermittent fasting) was linked to a 91 percent higher risk of cardiovascular death.

First things first: No peer-reviewed study shows a cause-and-effect relationship between intermittent fasting and heart disease. The "study" was actually an abstract from a conference presentation. That doesn't mean the data is bad; it just means it hasn't been reviewed and gone through the process that helps validate the findings.

More importantly, the research doesn't lend itself to making such big claims. The scientists looked at data where participants tried to recall how they ate for two days. So, technically, we don't know if the people who ate for fewer hours were even practicing intermittent fasting. In other words, a time-restricted feeding group was not compared to a non-time-restricted feeding group and then analyzed over time. Even the abstract authors wrote, "Although the study identified an association between an 8-hour eating window and cardiovascular death, this does not mean that time-restricted eating caused cardiovascular death."

Does this mean there's nothing to take from the research? It's too early to say, but because it's just an abstract, the headline was more than just a little premature; it was irresponsible.

If you do want more advice about losing weight, and diets, feel free to pop in to see us at Totley Pharmacy.