Sex Differences in Fat Metabolism after Fasting

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Stéphanie Abo, PhD
Applied Mathematics
University of Waterloo

WeightControl.com:  What is the background for this study? 

Response: Our study examines how men and women process food differently, particularly how each sex responds to a high-carb versus a high-fat diet. Obesity and related conditions, like type 2 diabetes, are major global issues, and nutrition plays a key role in managing these conditions.

Men and women metabolize fats and carbohydrates differently, especially during fasting and exercise. Using a mathematical model and computer simulations, we investigated sex differences in the processing of glucose and fat and identified candidate pathways behind these sex-specific differences. This research can help improve personalized nutrition and diet strategies for both men and women.

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Fasting Mimicking Diet: Five Days Per Month Demonstrated Improved Biomarkers for Aging and Disease Risk

The fasting mimicking diet is a five-day long meal program specifically designed to mimic the beneficial effects of fasting while allowing a person to eat and providing the necessary nutrients

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Valter D. Longo PhD
Edna M. Jones Professor of Gerontology and Biological Sciences
Director, Longevity Institute, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
AIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology
Italian Foundation for Cancer Research Institute of Molecular Oncolog
Milan, Italy

Sebastian Brandhorst PhD
Associate Professor Of Gerontology Co-Director
Aging Murine Phenotyping Core
University of Southern California,  Health Sciences

WeightControl.com:  What is the background for this study? 

Response: In mice, periodic cycles of a fasting mimicking diet (FMD) protect normal cells while killing damaged cells including cancer and autoimmune cells, reduce inflammation, promote multi-system  regeneration, and extend longevity. We previously demonstrated that study participants who consumed the FMD for 5 consecutive days per month for 3 months, but otherwise ate their regular diet had reduced body weight, trunk and total body fat, blood pressure, and a favorable safety profile.

Intermittent Fasting Without Counting Calories for Weight Loss

We found that participants who engaged in time-restricted eating ate 425 fewer calories per day than the control group and lost about 10 more pounds than the control group after one year

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Krista Varady, PhD
Professor, Kinesiology and Nutrition
University of Illinois, Chicago

WeightControl.com:  What is the background for this study? 

Response: Obesity is a major health issue. Many traditional weight loss diets involve counting calories, which can be cumbersome and difficult to do well. Time-restricted eating, without calorie counting, has become a popular weight loss strategy because it is simple to do. Whether it’s effective in producing weight loss, especially beyond the short term, is unclear.

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Intermittent Fasting Plus Exercise Can Reduce Help Decrease Liver Fat

Fatty liver disease puts people at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Krista Varady, PhD
Professor of Nutrition
Dept Kinesiology and Nutrition
University of Illinois Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, 60612
Instagram: @DrKristaVarady

WeightControl.com:  What is the background for this study? 

Response: We noticed that the main lifestyle therapy for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was combining daily calorie restriction with aerobic exercise. We were curious if intermittent fasting combined with aerobic exercise would produce the same reductions in liver fat.

So we designed a randomized controlled trial in 80 adults with obesity and NAFLD, with four intervention groups:

1) An alternate day fasting group that consumed 500 calories on the “fast day”, alternated with a free eating “feast day”;

2) Exercise group that participated in five supervised 60 min sessions per week, using elliptical machines and treadmills;

3) Combination of the fasting and exercise interventions;

4) No intervention control group. We measured liver fat using MRI before and after the 3-month intervention.