NEW DELHI– A new study has found that intermittent energy restriction (IER) may be more effective than other popular dietary strategies—such as time-restricted eating (TRE) and continuous energy restriction (CER)—in improving blood sugar control and metabolic health in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes.
While all three dietary approaches led to improved HbA1c levels and weight loss, participants in the IER group saw greater improvements in fasting blood glucose, insulin sensitivity, triglyceride levels, and overall adherence to the diet, according to researchers.
Unlike intermittent fasting, which typically involves periods of complete or near-complete abstinence from food, IER involves regularly scheduled periods of reduced caloric intake while maintaining a more flexible approach to eating on other days.
The study directly compared a 5:2 IER plan (five days of normal eating and two days of caloric restriction) with 10-hour time-restricted eating and standard continuous energy restriction in adults with obesity and type 2 diabetes.
“The findings provide scientific evidence to help clinicians choose the most suitable dietary strategies for managing patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes,” said Dr. Haohao Zhang, chief physician at The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University in China.
The 16-week randomized trial enrolled 90 patients, who were evenly divided into three groups (IER, TRE, and CER). All groups maintained consistent weekly caloric intake, and the program was supervised by a team of nutritionists.
Out of the 90 participants, 63 completed the study—18 women and 45 men—with an average age of 36.8 years. The participants had lived with diabetes for an average of 1.5 years, had a baseline BMI of 31.7 kg/m², and an average HbA1c of 7.42%.
By the end of the study, while all three groups showed improvements in HbA1c and body weight, the IER group demonstrated the greatest absolute reduction in both measures.
Additionally, IER significantly lowered fasting blood glucose and triglyceride levels compared to the TRE and CER groups. It also led to a marked improvement in the Matsuda index—a key indicator of whole-body insulin sensitivity. No significant changes were observed in uric acid or liver enzyme levels across any of the groups.
Mild hypoglycemia was reported in two participants each from the IER and TRE groups, and in three participants from the CER group.
The IER group also had the highest adherence rate at 85%, followed by CER at 84% and TRE at 78%. Both the IER and CER adherence rates were significantly higher than that of TRE.
“These results underscore the practicality and effectiveness of dietary interventions for people with obesity and type 2 diabetes,” Zhang said.
The findings were presented at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting currently underway in San Francisco, U.S. (Source: IANS)
