Table 4.
Summary of Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the impact of intermittent calorie restriction on inflammatory markers.
| Authors/ Year/ Country |
Duration | Participants | Study Design | TNF-α | IL-1β | IL-2 | IL-4 | IL-5 | IL-6 | IL-13 | IL17 | IL-22 | CRP | IFN-γ | CD40 Ligand | IGF-1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trepanowski et al., 2018 [86] US |
24 weeks | 69 overweight and obese | RCT: 1. ADF (25% energy needs on fast days;125% on fed days) 2. CR (75% energy needs daily) 3. Control (100% energy needs daily) |
1. Ø 2. Ø 3. Ø |
- | - | - | - | 1. Ø 2. Ø 3. Ø |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Bowen et al., 2018 [87] Australia |
24 weeks | 162 overweight and obese adults | RCT: 1. High protein, ADF + CR (1 Ad lib intake d/wk) 2. CR |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1. ↓19* hs-CRP 2. Ø |
- | - | - |
| Schübel et al., 2018 [28] Germany |
12 weeks | 144 overweight and obese adults | RCT: 12-week trial 5:2 vs. CR and control +38 wk (12 wk maintenance + 26 wk follow up) |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Ø | - | - | Ø |
| Sundfor et al., [88] 2018 Norway |
52 weeks | 112 obese adults | RCT: 5:2 diet vs. CR + Med diet |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Ø at 6 months | - | - | - |
| Cho et al., 2019 [89] South Korea |
8 weeks | 31 overweight and obese adults | RCT: ADF vs. usual diet with or without exercise |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Ø hs-CRP | - | - | - |
| Pinto et al., 2019 [90] UK |
4 weeks | 43 adults with central obesity | RCT: 1. 5:2 diet 2. CR |
1. ↓18% * 2.Ø |
1. Ø 2. Ø |
- | - | - | 1. Ø 2. Ø |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Razavi et al., 2021 [91] Iran |
17 weeks | 75 adults with MetSyn | RCT: 1. ADF (400–600 kcal on fast days) 2. CR (75% energy restriction daily) |
1. Ø 2. Ø |
- | - | - | - | 1. Ø 2. Ø |
- | - | - | 1. ↓48% * † hs-CRP 2. ↓26% * |
- | - | - |
| Han et al., 2021 [94] US |
1-day | 20 adults | Single arm: 24-h prolonged fasting vs. post-prandial response, 3 h after isocaloric breakfast (500 kcal) |
- | ↓ * | ↓ * | ↓ * | ↓ * | - | - | ↓ * | - | - | ↓ * | - | - |
| Han et al., 2021 [93] US |
1-day | 21 adults | Single arm: 24-h prolonged fasting vs. post-prandial response, 3 h after isocaloric breakfast (500 kcal) |
- | - | - | Ø | ↓ * | - | ↓ * | ↓ * | ↓ * | - | ↓ * | - | - |
| Bartholomew et al., 2021 [38] US |
26 weeks | 103 adults; ≥1 MetSyn component or T2D | RCT: 1. 5:2 diet for 4 weeks; followed by fasting once a week for 22 weeks 2. Ad libitum control |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Ø | - | - | - |
| Guo et al., 2021 [92] China |
8 weeks | 39 adults with MetSyn | RCT: 1. 5:2 diet (two days fasting per week) 2. Control |
Ø | - | - | - | - | Ø | - | - | - | - | - | 1. ↓ † 2. Ø |
- |
-: Not measured. Ø: Non-significant change between groups. * p < 0.05, Significantly different from baseline (within group effect). † p < 0.05, Significantly different from the control or. comparison group. TNF-α: tumor necrosis factor -α; IL-1β: Interleukin-1β; IL-2: Interleukin-2 IL-4: Interleukin-4 IL-5: Interleukin-5; IL-6: Interleukin-6; IL-13: Interleukin-13; IL-17: Interleukin-17; IL-22: Interleukin-22; CRP: C-reactive protein; IFN-γ: Interferon gamma; IGF-1: Insulin-like growth factor 1; ADF: Alternate-day fasting. CR: Caloric restriction; MetSyn: Metabolic syndrome; Med diet: Mediterranean diet; T2D: Type 2 diabetes.