The study divided overweight people into two groups. One group was assigned 5:2 diet another group was assigned daily calorie restriction diet. They measured days required for 5% weight loss, ability to clear fat and glucose from the blood. The 5:2 diet involved eating regularly for five days and restricting remaining 2 days to 600 calories per day.
Results of the study showed that subjects assigned to 5:2 diet lost 5% weight in 59 days compared other group which took 73 days. Researchers also found improved ability to clear triglycerides in this group. The study also found 9% reduction in systolic blood pressure by in 5:2 group.
Dr. Rona Antoni, Research Fellow in Nutritional Metabolism at the University of Surrey, said:
As seen in this study, some of our participants struggled to tolerate the 5:2 diet, which suggests that this approach is not suited to everybody; ultimately the key to dieting success is finding an approach you can sustain long term.
“But for those who do well and are able stick to the 5:2 diet, it could potentially have a beneficial impact on some important risk markers for cardiovascular disease, in some cases more so than daily dieting. However, we need further studies to confirm our findings, to understand the underlying mechanisms and to improve the tolerability of the 5:2 diet.”
Citation: Antoni, Rona, Kelly L. Johnston, Adam L. Collins, and M. Denise Robertson. “Intermittent v. Continuous Energy Restriction: Differential Effects on Postprandial Glucose and Lipid Metabolism following Matched Weight Loss in Overweight/obese Participants.” British Journal of Nutrition 119, no. 05 (2018): 507-16. doi:10.1017/s0007114517003890.
Adapted from press release by the University of Surrey.
Medical News Observer 
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