In a recent Americal Heart Association Epidemiology and Prevention, Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic health scientific sessions 2024, the scientists highlighted on a new study done to understand the connection between intermittent fasting and cardiovascular diseases (and even mortality rates).
They found that an eight-hour restricted diet is linked with a 91% higher risk of intermittent fasting heart attacks and cardiovascular death. As this scientific fact is unfolded, individuals must always consult their doctors before changing anything in their diet schedules.
In this article
Highlights of the Study at Chicago
- The study comprised about 20,000 adults in the US who followed an –hour time-restricted eating schedule, which is often a frequently followed 16:8 intermittent fasting schedule.
- Approximately, half of the participants were men, and the other half were men, who were at least 20 years of age between 2013-2018 and had completed two 24-hour dietary recall questionnaires within the first year of enrollment.
- On the contrary of what was believed earlier with respect to intermittent fasting, eating in a dedicated 8 hours per day would not help you live longer.
- In fact, the study opposes earlier studies conducted on intermittent fasting, that highlighted that time-restricted eating improves several cardiometabolic health measures, including blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol.
- The study also suggested that such limitations on food intake might lead to short term benefits, but long term adverse effects.
What do Scientists Have to Say?
“Restricting daily eating time to a short period, such as 8 hours per day, has gained popularity in recent years as a way to lose weight and improve heart health,” – senior study author Victor Wenze Zhong, Ph.D., a professor and chair of the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in Shanghai, China.
“However, the long-term health effects of time-restricted eating, including risk of death from any cause or cardiovascular disease, are unknown.”
“We were surprised to find that people who followed an 8-hour, time-restricted eating schedule were more likely to die from cardiovascular disease. Even though this type of diet has been popular due to its potential short-term benefits, our research clearly shows that, compared with a typical eating time range of 12-16 hours per day, a shorter eating duration was not associated with living longer,” Zhong said.
It’s crucial for patients, particularly those with existing heart conditions or cancer, to be aware of the association between an 8-hour eating window and an increased risk of cardiovascular death. Their study’s findings encourage a more cautious, personalized approach to dietary recommendations, ensuring that they are aligned with an individual’s health status and the latest scientific evidence.
“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.”
Attaching the poster here for your reference.
Limitations Of The Study
- The scientists only highlight a correlation between obesity and immunotherapy. However, there could be a whole lot of reasons why the same could happen.
- The study did not include the kind of food that the population is having during the 8 hours diet.
- The morbidity risks were measured based on cardiometabolic health parameters, including blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol. Along with that, they also checked for cancer morbidity and all-cause morbidity, which showed similar effects, but they’re unsure of the causes.
Takeaways – Intermittent Fasting Heart Attacks
In all, understanding intermittent fasting heart attacks is becoming more common than ever. And the reason behind this may be different for everyone. What this study emphasizes, is the importance of going to a doctor before changing any time of food intake and scheduling your diet. Instead of taking it lightly, you should go to a dietician or a nutritionist around you to help you understand how your diet timings might affect you.
Also, read about seven peptides that help you in your weight loss journey here.
Stay tuned for more such research.
