Effect of intermittent fasting on healthImage Credit source: Peter Dazeley/The Image Bank/Getty Images
Nowadays people are adopting many methods to keep themselves fit, the most popular of which is intermittent fasting. This means skipping one meal or staying without eating or drinking anything for a few hours. Many people skip breakfast and make it a part of their daily life. This method is being liked a lot on social media also, and people are also following it. People believe that this method is proving to be very helpful in reducing weight.
Apart from weight loss, it also improves digestion. But is it really so?….because in a study that has come out, its results have been found to be different. It has been claimed in this study that if you skip breakfast then it has a bad effect on the body. Let us know in detail in this article.
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What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting means a high pattern in which people stop eating for a few hours or days and consume limited food. The most popular method in this is 16:8, that is, 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of eating time. Some people adopt the 5:2 pattern, which means eating normally for five days and taking a very limited calorie diet for two days. Actually, people adopt it to lose weight and stay fit. But sometimes due to not having breakfast, it can have a negative effect.
What does the study say?
A report published in the journal Nutrients states that the habit of repeatedly skipping breakfast can prove to be harmful for health. It was found that people who skip breakfast have a higher risk of metabolic syndrome. The problems caused by this are accumulation of fat around the stomach, high blood pressure, increase in sugar level and high cholesterol level. All these problems increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Which diseases are at greater risk?
In this study, data of a total of 1.18 lakh participants from 9 countries like Korea, Japan, Iran, Brazil and America has been analyzed. This research found that people who skip breakfast have about 10% higher risk of metabolic syndrome. The risk of belly fat is 17%, the risk of high blood pressure is 21%, the risk of disturbance in blood lipids (cholesterol) is 13% and the risk of increased blood sugar is 26%.
How important is it to have breakfast?
Many people think what a big deal it is to not have breakfast. But scientists believe that the gap between dinner and breakfast the next day is very long. In such a situation, when people do not eat food in the morning, the circadian rhythm and insulin sensitivity of the body can get disturbed. Due to this, the body is not able to control sugar properly, due to which metabolic disturbances begin.
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