Intermittent fasting falls short for weight loss, new review says

A Cochrane review of 22 randomized trials involving about 2,000 adults found intermittent fasting produced little to no meaningful weight loss compared with standard dieting or no intervention, with results barely better than doing nothing. Most studies lasted up to 12 months and participants were largely White adults from high-income countries, limiting generalizability. Experts say long-term sustainability matters and advise a case-by-case approach, often favoring balanced, sustainable diets like the Mediterranean or DASH; intermittent fasting may help some people (e.g., for blood sugar control in Type 2 diabetes) but is not universally superior for weight loss.