Not So Fast

Attempts to lose weight by periodically going hungry can often have the opposite effect.

- Jennifer Bowden

Question: Michael Mosley’s 5:2 intermittent-fasting eating plan is sometimes called a diet. It seems to have some medical support, but I can’t find any serious research on it. Is intermittent fasting likely to follow the same pattern as other energy-restricted diets, as you outlined in the June 16 issue?

Answer: Whether you try to reduce your body size through intermittent fasting or a standard energy restricted diet, the same issue remains – are humans actually able to consciously control their body weight? Weight setpoint theory would say no.

Decades of research suggests that although we can lose weight in the short term, it is invariably regained within two to five years, and for as many as half of dieters, more weight is regained than was originally lost.