Intermittent fasting with more than 16 hours of food break increases the risk of cardiovascular death by 91%

A study of more than 20,000 adults found that those who followed an intermittent fasting schedule with food restricted to less than eight hours a day had a 91% higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, compared to with a standard schedule, according to the American Heart Association.

Additionally, compared to eating for 12-16 hours a day, limiting food consumption to less than eight hours a day was not associated with longer life.

The research, which looked at 20,000 US adults with an average age of 49, found that people who limited their food intake to fewer than eight hours a day were more likely to die from disease cardiovascular events, compared to people who ate for 12-16 hours a day, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention / Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Scientific Sessions 2024, 18- March 21 in Chicago), a meeting discussing the latest scientific data on population health and well-being and the implications for lifestyle.

Restricting daily eating time/Intermittent Fasting

Time-restricted eating, a type of intermittent fasting, involves limiting mealtimes to a certain number of hours each day, which can range from four to 12 hours in a day (within 24 hours).

Very popular is the 16:8 eating schedule, where the person eats all food in an eight-hour window and fasts for the remaining 16 hours of each day.

Some previous research has found that time-restricted eating improves several measures of cardiometabolic health, such as blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels.

“Restricting your daily eating time to a short period, such as eight hours a day, has gained popularity in recent years as a way to lose weight and improve heart health. However, the long-term health effects of time-restricted eating, including the risk of death from any cause or from cardiovascular disease, are unknown,” said lead study author Victor Wenze Zhong, PhD, professor and chair of the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in Shanghai, China.

In the study of 20,000 US adults, researchers investigated the potential long-term health impact of following an eight-hour time-restricted eating plan.

They compared information on dietary patterns of participants in the 2003-2018 annual National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) with data on people who died in the US from 2003 to December 2019 from the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Death Index.

The conclusions they reached were that people who followed a pattern of eating all their food for less than eight hours a day had a 91% higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.

Increased risk of cardiovascular death has also been seen in people with heart disease or cancer.

For people with existing cardiovascular disease, eating for at least eight hours but less than ten hours per day was also associated with a 66% higher risk of death from heart disease or stroke.

A time-restricted diet did not reduce the overall risk of death

The researchers also concluded that time-restricted eating did not reduce the overall risk of death from any cause.

In contrast, eating time greater than 16 hours per day was associated with a lower risk of cancer mortality among people with cancer.

“It is essential that patients, particularly those with existing heart conditions or cancer, are aware of the association between an eight-hour eating window and increased risk of cardiovascular death. The findings of our study encourage a more cautious and personalized approach to dietary recommendations, ensuring that they are aligned with the individual’s health status and the latest scientific evidenceZhong stated.

The lead author of the research also said that “although the study identified an association between an 8-hour eating window and cardiovascular death, this does not mean that time-restricted eating caused cardiovascular death“.

Study participants were followed for an average of eight years and a maximum of 17 years.