Which is Better at Reducing Abdominal Obesity: Low Carb or IF?

You might be surprised by the results of this randomized trial published in Cell Reports.

I sometimes find that low-carb people aren’t always fans of intermittent fasting, and some intermittent fasters are down on low-carb. I like to consider all approaches.

The journal Cell Reports published this randomized trial comparing three different approaches: low-carb, intermittent fasting, and a combination of both.

The researchers were especially interested in reducing abdominal obesity rather than only total body fat. This is because abdominal obesity strongly correlates with heart disease, diabetes, and other metabolic disorders.

The authors note in their introduction:

Abdominal obesity is of central importance in the induction of metabolic dysfunctions including hypertension [high blood pressure], hyperglycemia [high blood sugar], atherogenic dyslipidemia [narrowing of arteries], and release of proinflammatory cytokines by adipose tissue. ¹

The researchers recruited 169 participants with metabolic syndrome and randomized them into three interventions: a low carb diet (LCD) group, a time-restricted eating group (TRE), and a group that did both interventions. The trial lasted for three months.

Those practicing intermittent fasting or TRE [time restricted eating] had 8-hour eating windows. They could choose between an early eating window of 8 am to 4 pm, or an evening eating window of 12 pm to 8 pm. It’s interesting to me that more people chose the early eating window.