Effects of intermittent dieting with break periods on body composition and metabolic adaptation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

This article systematically reviews and meta-analyzes the effectiveness of intermittent dieting incorporated with break periods (INT-B) compared with conventional continuous energy restriction (CER) for improving body composition and attenuating metabolic adaptation. Based on 12 randomized trials involving 881 participants, both INT-B and CER produced similar significant reductions in body mass, fat mass, body fat percentage, body mass index, and waist circumference, with no significant differences in fat-free mass changes. However, resting metabolic rate (RMR) decreased significantly only with CER, while INT-B showed a smaller compensatory reduction in RMR, indicating less metabolic adaptation; this effect was more pronounced in individuals with overweight or obesity than in resistance-trained individuals. The findings suggest that INT-B is a viable dietary strategy for weight management that may better preserve metabolic rate during energy restriction.