Intermittent fasting, which was thought to be good for health... "Increases risk of death" reversal results

Jungkook from BTS revealed that he had tried intermittent fasting in the past for dieting purposes./YouTube© Provided by Chosun Ilbo

Recent research has shown that intermittent fasting, which has gained popularity in recent years for health reasons, actually significantly increases the mortality rate from cardiovascular diseases.

According to The Washington Post (WP) on the 18th (local time), the American Heart Association announced at a conference held in Chicago that 8 hours a day

It was announced that similar research results related to the so-called '16:8 method' of intermittent fasting, where individuals eat only during a certain period and fast for more than 16 hours, have been published.

This study analyzed the eating habits of 20,000 American adults from 2003 to 2018. As a result, it was found that the mortality rate from heart disease among people who adhered to the 16:8 fasting method was 91% higher than that of individuals with a typical eating pattern who ate multiple times over 12 to 16 hours daily.

Intermittent fasting has been shown to affect mortality rates in people with underlying health conditions. Among individuals with cardiovascular disease, those who practiced intermittent fasting had a 66% higher mortality rate from heart disease or stroke, and cancer patients who practiced intermittent fasting also had higher disease-related mortality compared to those who ate normally.

Victor Won Jejung, the chief of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Biostatistics at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China and the corresponding author of the paper, said, "Practicing intermittent fasting over the long term is expected to reduce the risk of various causes of death, including cardiovascular disease, and we conducted research on this." He also stated, "The results showed that the content of the meal is much more important than the timing of the meal."

The reason why intermittent fasting causes higher mortality in this study has not been determined.

However, the research team confirmed that people practicing intermittent fasting with the '16:8 method' have less muscle mass compared to those with regular eating habits. This finding is consistent with the results of a study by the internal medicine society, which showed that individuals who practiced intermittent fasting for three months experienced greater muscle loss than those who did not.

WP added, "As you age, maintaining muscle mass becomes increasingly important," because "it helps protect the body from falls and disabilities and increases metabolic rate." They also mentioned that many studies have shown that a lack of muscle mass is associated with a higher risk of death from cardiovascular diseases.

The research team emphasized that the results of this study are not conclusive. While they identified a correlation between intermittent fasting and increased mortality, they were unable to establish a causal relationship.

Intermittent fasting has gained great popularity among celebrities and experts as it is known to provide not only weight loss benefits but also various health advantages.

In Korea, BTS's Jungkook revealed that he attempted intermittent fasting for healthy dieting, and it is known that Hollywood stars such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Jackman, and Jennifer Aniston, as well as Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, and Rishi Sunak, the British Prime Minister, also practice intermittent fasting.

However, research results on intermittent fasting have been mixed. Early studies showed many findings suggesting it prevents obesity and metabolic syndrome, but most of these studies focused on short-term intermittent fasting, and there were also quite a few studies indicating no effect.

Christopher Gardner, the head of nutrition research at the Stanford Evangelical Research Institute, also expressed the opinion that it is actually difficult to conduct research related to the effects of intermittent fasting. This is because people's diets vary greatly, and in order to study the impact of intermittent fasting on longevity, it is necessary to observe people over a longer period of time.

Gardner emphasized, "If someone only eats during an 8-hour window and only consumes desserts, snacks, or cola during that time, what would happen?" He also pointed out that "the effects of intermittent fasting on a small number of people cannot be assumed to apply equally to everyone."