TABLE 2.

Main differences between intermittent fasting, caloric restriction, and Ramadan fasting.

	Intermittent Fasting protocols	Caloric restriction	Ramadan fasting
Caloric intake	Considering the food consumption throughout the week, there is a slight caloric intake restriction (97)	TRF: intake of 40% to 60% of the total energy expenditure, or daily restriction of 500 kcal to 1000 kcal (82) ADF: includes days containing absolute fasting of food (83). MADF: includes 2 days a week with no-energy intake or days with severe restriction of food intake (less than 25% of daily necessity) (80)	Slight caloric intake restriction (300 kcal) (95)
Meals daily distribution	2 to 7 food restriction windows weekly. Usually composed by 16 h-fasting or 2 days of the week with a caloric intake lower than 20% of the TCI (78)	Daily caloric restriction with a variable number of meals (TRF, MADF) (82) or days without any meals (ADF, ADF)	Fasting during daylight period (from 11 AM to 6 PM). Generally two meals a day, one after sunset and one before sunrise (93)
Related risks	Binge eating and hypoglycemia (81)	Vitamin and mineral deficiency (82)	Risk of dehydration and accidents at work (98)
Liquid intake	No restriction (84)	No restriction (82)	Restricted, including water restriction. Liquid intake is allowed only at night (90)