Symposium Australian Diabetes Society and the Australian Diabetes Educators Association Annual Scientific Meeting 2017

Intermittent energy restriction: friend or foe for diabetes and cardio metabolic disease management? (#59)

Amanda Salis 1 , Nuala Byrne 2 , Leonie Heilbronn 3 , Jencia Wong 4 , Jane Overland 4 , Sharayah Carter 5
  1. The Boden Institute of Obesity, Nutrition, Exercise & Eating Disorders, Sydney Medical School, Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
  2. Health Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
  3. South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
  4. Diabetes Centre, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
  5. Nutrition and Dietetics, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia

Recent years have seen a surge in popularity of intermittent energy restriction for the promotion of weight loss and metabolic health. These dietary interventions include popular strategies such as intermittent fasting (e.g. alternate-day fasting, the 5:2 diet or the 2-day diet), time-restricted feeding (e.g. religious fasts such as Ramadan), as well as regimes using longer periods of 'feast' and 'famine'. But what is the evidence that these dietary strategies are safe or effective, notably for people with diabetes? And is there any evidence that they produce better results than the conventional approach to weight management (i.e. continuous energy restriction)? This symposium will critically appraise the state-of-the-art and future directions of the science of intermittent energy restriction for weight loss and metabolic health. It will also provide practical insights into the use of intermittent energy restriction for people with diabetes.