Intermittent Fasting Outperforms Other Diets for Diabetes Control: Study Finds - Video

A new study presented at ENDO 2025 reveals that while all three popular dietary strategies, intermittent energy restriction, time-restricted eating, and continuous energy restriction, can aid in blood sugar control and weight loss for people with obesity and type 2 diabetes, intermittent energy restriction stands out for offering the greatest metabolic benefits and adherence.

"This study is the first to compare the effects of three different dietary interventions, intermittent energy restriction, time-restricted eating, and continuous energy restriction, in managing type 2 diabetes with obesity," said Haohao Zhang, Ph.D., chief physician at The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University in Zhengzhou, China. "The research fills a gap in directly comparing 5:2 intermittent energy restriction with a 10-hour time-restricted eating in patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes. The findings provide scientific evidence for clinicians to choose appropriate dietary strategies when treating such patients."

The study was a single-center, randomized, parallel-controlled trial conducted between November 2021 and November 2024. Ninety patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups intermittent energy restriction, time-restricted eating, or continuous energy restriction with equal caloric intake across all groups. Participants underwent a 16-week intervention supervised by a team of nutritionists.

Sixty-three participants completed the trial. While all three dietary approaches led to improvements in HbA1c and body weight, the intermittent energy restriction group experienced the greatest reductions. Additionally, intermittent energy restriction significantly lowered fasting blood glucose and triglyceride levels and improved whole-body insulin sensitivity, measured by the Matsuda index.

Adverse events were mild, with a few cases of hypoglycemia reported across all groups. The intermittent energy restriction group also showed the highest adherence rate at 85%, compared to 84% in the continuous energy restriction group and 78% in the time-restricted eating group.

Zhang said these findings highlight the feasibility and effectiveness of dietary interventions for people who have obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Reference: https://www.endocrine.org/