Comparing the effects of short-term fasting therapy and low-calorie diet on anthropometric and leptin measures among obese or overweight persons: Randomized controlled trial

Background: Preclinical and clinical studies have shown the importance of calorie restriction diet in cardiovascular risk factors such as weight. In this study, our objective is to compare the Naturopathic short-term fasting therapy with low-calorie diet on anthropometric and leptin measures among obese and overweight persons. Materials and Methods: Obese and overweight subjects (n = 84, 59.52% females) with Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥25 were randomized into fasting therapy intervention (n = 42) and a low-calorie diet intervention (n = 42). After a written informed consent, the fasting therapy and low-calorie diet intervention group underwent a very low-calorie diet (288-904 kcal) and a low-calorie diet (1234 kcal) respectively for 10 days. Subjects in both the groups were assessed with serum leptin levels and anthropometric parameters such as BMI, weight, waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC) and waist-hip ratio (WHR) at the baseline and after 10 days. Results: Within-group comparison showed both the groups did better in all the parameters. However, greater changes were observed in the fasting group as compared to the low-calorie diet group. Changes in BMI, weight, HC and WC were significantly different in the two groups (P < 0.05), except for serum leptin (P > 0.05). Conclusions: The findings support that, both short-term fasting therapy and a low–calorie diet are beneficial in reducing leptin and anthropometric parameters among obese or overweight subjects. However, long-term adherence of weight loss with these interventions need to be tested with future studies.