MEMPHIS — For many people, there’s a constant, nagging inner monologue telling them to start a new diet or get back in the gym. However, some dieting and fitness plans may be doing more harm than good. Whether it’s intermittent fasting, cutting carbs, or going Keto, new research is advising caution for those who restrict their eating habits. Researchers at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center say that eating only one meal per day is associated with an increased risk of death in American adults 40 and older.
The findings contradict the many articles on intermittent fasting research previously published on StudyFinds which demonstrate the wide-ranging benefits of the practice. For example, just recently one report linked intermittent fasting to greater longevity. Another shows that it could potentially help prevent diabetes. Any changes to your diet should always be discussed with your doctor first.
According to the scientists behind this latest report, skipping meals can have harmful effects to your health. While you might enjoy dropping a few extra pounds, skipping breakfast is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease mortality. Similarly, missing lunch or dinner can lead to a higher risk of death in general.
The timing of your meals also plays role in health. For those who eat three meals daily, researchers say that meals should be spaced out by 4.5 hours of each other. Otherwise, you may be inching closer to death’s door.
“At a time when intermittent fasting is widely touted as a solution for weight loss, metabolic health, and disease prevention, our study is important for the large segment of American adults who eat fewer than three meals each day. Our research revealed that individuals eating only one meal a day are more likely to die than those who had more daily meals,” says lead study author Yangbo Sun, from the Department of Preventive Medicine at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, in a media release.
2 in 5 people follow a restricted diet plan
The investigators analyzed responses and causes of death from over 24,000 American adults 40 years-old and older who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 1999 and 2014. The survey collects data on everything from diet to general health across the U.S.
Researchers found that people who ate less than three meals a day (about 40% of the participants) shared common characteristics such as having less education, lower income, food insecurities, drinking more alcohol, smoking, and have less energy intake overall.
“Our results are significant even after adjustments for dietary and lifestyle factors (smoking, alcohol use, physical activity levels, energy intake, and diet quality) and food insecurity,” adds the study’s senior investigator, Dr. Wei Bao, from the Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health at the University of Iowa.
Dr. Bao explains that skipping meals means obtaining more energy all at once, which can throw off your body’s ability to metabolize glucose. This can result in damage to your metabolism.
So, the next time you’re considering hopping on the newest diet trend, think twice. Limiting your body’s food (and fuel) intake can have serious long-term consequences and that is more important than fitting into the next size down in jeans. As mentioned, it’s best to talk with your doctor first to figure out the best dietary routine for your health.
The study is published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
So, what we’re looking at is a group of people who shared a lot of characteristics you find in people who don’t take care of themselves. This isn’t fasting as a diet, this is poor diet. The people that legit intermittent fast as a planned diet and fitness routine will always live longer and have better health. This headline is dishonest.
HA HA HA HEE HA!
I’ve been fasting for a number of years…this article is complete unsubstantiated drivel.
Could you please reference more than one study and the details of the studies. Also your qualifications to post this type of medical information. The drinkers and smokers have separate risk factors and also the quality of foods consumed would be interesting to understand. Random articles like this could cause mass confusing of information. Should I stop fasting?
Just another doctor who wants to get in the news.
How many people do you know who fast or skip meals who died because of it?
I don’t know of any.
My health has improved, my weight is under control and my body lets me know when it needs sustenance.
And doctors wonder why people don’t trust their advice!
Complete nonsense. I have been following Hagan’s Protocol which allows for an 8 hour eating window every day for ten years now (water fasting the other 16 hours). My weight is normal, I feel great. People say I look great. The thought of food in the morning is distasteful to me and, quite frankly, I don’t think much about food at all.
Game, set, match!
Lol. There are literally dozens of studies done that show the benefits of fasting. What is going on with the world. How does this woke bs get out there. Who is funding it? For what purpose to peddle this bs?
Surveys lie because people have ulterior motives to their answers. Which is why this assertion about intermittent fasting is real fake news, wishing to impart the wrong impression on purpose. Especially because intermittent fasting can cure diabetes, for example, prospects for which BigPharma wants badly to eliminate.
Intermittent fasting is a practice so old its in the Bible.
I’ll also leave this right here.
https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/research-intermittent-fasting-shows-health-benefits
I call this study BS. What is the purpose? Who is behind it? What are they selling?
Fundamentally flawed “study”
Correlation is not causation.
Our research revealed that individuals eating only one meal a day are more likely to die than those who had more daily meals,” says lead study author Yangbo Sun in a media release.
Think about it, Yangbo. Think about it real hard.
Amen. And maybe it was the smoking and alcohol abuse that killed these people, not so much the fasting. Jesus, what a pile of horse-shiz.
This must be Pharma sponsored BS article. Since, Intermittent fasting and Keto has gained traction and now becoming a norm.
Laughable
This is not true. There are numerous studies that prove people who live the longest healthiest lives practice intermittent fasting.
People in the US die from over eating. Most Americans can afford to skip a few meals here and there.
As someone who has lost, nearly, 80 pounds following an intermittent fasting protocol, I found this article to be…I can’t think of a word that fits better than “really?”
Do you really think that mankind started out eating three meals a day? Why is it every great religion integrates “fasting” into their faith? I guess centuries of keen observation as to what is healthy, and what causes physical ill found no problem with fasting to the point where it became ritualistic.
I think more real studies need to shore up this “new” idea that intermittent fasting is harmful to your health.
“shared common characteristics such as having less education, lower income, food insecurities, drinking more alcohol, smoking, and have less energy intake overall.” So that group of ppl should not be IFFING, but what about the rest of us? Causation, causation, causation.
These people need a good colonic so full of BS.
They did not mention cleansing diets to aid the in elimination of toxins from the colon and small intestines to prevent diseases.
It’s laughable that this study shows 40% of their test group had lower education, smoked and drank alcohol while having food insecurities. This article is a streaming pile of shit. Do real research that shows IMF reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in older adults, promotes cellular atophogy by 200%, and reduces body fat and subcutaneous fat which is harmful to the organs. Clearly hired by the food industry to write a hit piece on keto and IMF.