Intermittent fasting doesn't help you lose weight, UCSF study suggests - CNBC

The study found "no evidence" that time-restricted eating works as a weight loss strategy. .

With so many stars touting its benefits, in 2019, intermittent fasting was the top-trending diet search in Google, according to Google Trends data. .

Starting in 2018, they recruited 116 people who were overweight or obese. All the participants received a Bluetooth-connected scale, and were asked to exercise as they normally would. .

Weiss suggests that the placebo effect might have caused both groups to lose weight: Many people will pay closer attention to what they eat when enrolled in a nutrition study, meaning they're more likely to make healthier food choices. .

So going forward, he says, consumers should be increasingly skeptical about any nutrition study claiming weight loss benefits that doesn't involve a control group.

A smaller percentage of participants were asked by the researchers to come on-site for more advanced testing, including changes in fat mass, lean mass, fasting glucose, fasting insulin and so on

There's also a need for further studies to show whether intermittent fasting is safe for people over 60, or those with chronic ailments like diabetes and on medications. 

Weiss' study had participants skip food in the morning