Intermittent fasting can increase the risk of heart disease, finds study: Here's what it means

Intermittent fasting is a type of eating pattern that alternates between periods of eating and voluntary fasting. One of the methods in it is the 16:8 method, which involves an eating window of 8 hours and a fasting window of 16 hours.

While the method promotes various health benefits such as insulin sensitivity, lower blood pressure, controls inflammation and ensures better lipid profiles, a study published in the journal Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome has revealed that the dieting method could lead to more than two-fold risk of cardiovascular mortality.

There have been evidences on such extreme routines leading to nutrient deficiencies, excessive hunger, headaches, irritability and more.


On the basis of data collected from 19,000 adults from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), the study found that people who ate for less than 8 hours a day had 135% higher chances of cardiovascular mortality- death due to heart and blood vessel diseases such as heart attacks or strokes, when compared to those who ate for 12-14 hours a day. These links remained even when the results were analysed according to 8 different sub-groups, such as race, ethnicity or other socioeconomic factors.

The study also looked at the connection between intermittent fasting and cancer and all-cause mortality, but there was no link found. “Although (there could be confounding factors), people should be extremely cautious to adopt a short eating window for a long time over years to pursue cardiovascular health or longevity, which has no evidence support from human studies to date,” said Victor Wenze Zhong, a senior author of the study.

Previously, a retrospective study by the American Heart Association conference in March 2024 had also claimed that a 16-hour intermittent fasting was linked to a 91% higher risk of death from heart disease.