Browsing by Subject "Intermittent fasting"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Potential role of intermittent fasting on decreasing cardiovascular disease in human immunodeficiency virus patients receiving antiretroviral therapy
    (Baishideng Publishing Group, 2021-11-20) Gnoni, Martin; Beas, Renato; Raghuram, Anupama; Díaz-Pardavé, Celeste; Riva-Moscoso, Adrian; Príncipe-Meneses, Fortunato S.; Vásquez-Garagatti, Raúl; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has become one of the commonest causes of comorbidity and mortality among People living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (PLWH) on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Nearly 50% of PLWH are likely to have an increased risk of developing CVD, including coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral artery disease and aortic atherosclerosis. Aside from the common risk factors, HIV infection itself and side effects of antiretroviral therapy contribute to the pathophysiology of this entity. Potential non-pharmacological therapies are currently being tested worldwide for this purpose, including eating patterns such as Intermittent fasting (IF). IF is a widespread practice gaining high level of interest in the scientific community due to its potential benefits such as improvement in serum lipids and lipoproteins, blood pressure (BP), platelet-derived growth factor AB, systemic inflammation, and carotid artery intima-media thickness among others cardiovascular benefits. This review will focus on exploring the potential role of intermittent fasting as a non-pharmacological and cost-effective strategy in decreasing the burden of cardiovascular diseases among HIV patients on ART due to its intrinsic properties improving the main cardiovascular risk factors and modulating inflammatory pathways related to endothelial dysfunction, lipid peroxidation and aging. Intermittent fasting regimens need to be tested in clinical trials as an important, cost-effective, and revolutionary coadjutant of ART in the fight against the increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease in PLWH.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Retention, Fasting Patterns, and Weight Loss With an Intermittent Fasting App: Large-Scale, 52-Week Observational Study
    (JMIR Publications, 2022-10-04) Torres, Luisa; Lee, Joy L.; Park, Seho; Di Lorenzo, R. Christian; Branam, Jonathan P.; Fraser, Shelagh A.; Salisbury, Benjamin A.; Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health
    Background: Intermittent fasting (IF) is an increasingly popular approach to dietary control that focuses on the timing of eating rather than the quantity and content of caloric intake. IF practitioners typically seek to improve their weight and other health factors. Millions of practitioners have turned to purpose-built mobile apps to help them track and adhere to their fasts and monitor changes in their weight and other biometrics. Objective: This study aimed to quantify user retention, fasting patterns, and weight loss by users of 2 IF mobile apps. We also sought to describe and model starting BMI, amount of fasting, frequency of weight tracking, and other demographics as correlates of retention and weight change. Methods: We assembled height, weight, fasting, and demographic data of adult users (ages 18-100 years) of the LIFE Fasting Tracker and LIFE Extend apps from 2018 to 2020. Retention for up to 52 weeks was quantified based on recorded fasts and correlated with user demographics. Users who provided height and at least 2 readings of weight and whose first fast and weight records were contemporaneous were included in the weight loss analysis. Fasting was quantified as extended fasting hours (EFH; hours beyond 12 in a fast) averaged per day (EFH per day). Retention was modeled using a Cox proportional hazards regression. Weight loss was analyzed using linear regression. Results: A total of 792,692 users were followed for retention based on 26 million recorded fasts. Of these, 132,775 (16.7%) users were retained at 13 weeks, 54,881 (6.9%) at 26 weeks, and 16,478 (2.1%) at 52 weeks, allowing 4 consecutive weeks of inactivity. The survival analysis using Cox regression indicated that retention was positively associated with age and exercise and negatively associated with stress and smoking. Weight loss in the qualifying cohort (n=161,346) was strongly correlated with starting BMI and EFH per day, which displayed a positive interaction. Users with a BMI ≥40 kg/m2 lost 13.9% of their starting weight by 52 weeks versus a slight weight gain on average for users with starting BMI <23 kg/m2. EFH per day was an approximately linear predictor of weight loss. By week 26, users lost over 1% of their starting weight per EFH per day on average. The regression analysis using all variables was highly predictive of weight change at 26 weeks (R2=0.334) with starting BMI and EFH per day as the most significant predictors. Conclusions: IF with LIFE mobile apps appears to be a sustainable approach to weight reduction in the overweight and obese population. Healthy weight and underweight individuals do not lose much weight on average, even with extensive fasting. Users who are obese lose substantial weight over time, with more weight loss in those who fast more.