Table 2.

Summary of studies showing the effect of fasting or caloric restriction on lowering heart rate in >20 human subjects.

Study Author and Reference	Type of Study	Subjects	CR or No. of Calories	Duration of Study	Effect on HR and HRV
Stein et al. [8]	Obs	Healthy	30% CR	3–15 years	HR lower; HRV higher
Ruggenenti et al. [21]	RCT	Type 2 diabetics	25% CR	6 months	HR lower
Hoddy et al. [40]	Obs	Obese	ADF with 75% CR	8 weeks	HR no change
Meyer et al. [46]	Obs	Healthy	1672 kcal/day vs. 2445 kcal/day	Mean 6.5 years	HR no difference
Trepanowski et al. [52]	RCT	Obese	ADF with 75% CR, 25% CR or control	6 months	HR no change

RCT = randomised controlled trial; Obs = observational study; CR = caloric restriction; ADF = alternate day fasting; HR = heart rate; HRV = heart rate variability.