Effects of intermittent fasting and caloric restriction on inflammatory biomarkers in individuals with obesity/overweight: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Introduction: Obesity is characterized by chronic low-grade inflammation. This study presents an updated systematic review and meta-analysis on the effect of caloric restriction (CR) and intermittent fasting (IF) on plasma inflammatory biomarkers (C-reactive protein [CRP], tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-alpha, and interleukin [IL]-6) in individuals with obesity/overweight compared with unrestricted or ad libitum feeding.

Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, and SCOPUS databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting inflammatory biomarkers after at least 8 weeks of intervention.