A Review of Intermittent Fasting as a Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Background: Introduction: The purpose of this review is to explore intermittent fasting (IF) versus continuous energy restriction as a treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). The precursor to diabetes is obesity, which currently threatens the Department of Defense's ability to retain and recruit adequate service members. Intermittent fasting may be an adjunct for prevention of obesity and diabetes in the armed forces.

Objectives: Weight loss and lifestyle modification are long-standing treatments for T2DM. The objective of this review is to compare IF to continuous energy restriction.

Methods: PubMed was searched from August 2013 to March 2022 for systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, clinical trials, and case series. Inclusion criteria were studies which monitored HbA1C, fasting glucose levels, diagnosis of T2DM, ages 18-75, and a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 25 kg/m2. Eight articles met these criteria and were selected. These 8 articles were separated into Categories A and B for this review. Category A includes randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and Category B consists of pilot studies and clinical trials.

Results: Intermittent fasting proved to have commensurate decreases in HbA1C and BMI compared to the control group, but not to a statistically significant degree. It cannot be said that IF is better than continuous energy restriction.

Conclusion: More research is needed on this topic as 1 in 11 people suffer from T2DM. The benefits of IF are apparent, but there is not enough breadth of research available to affect clinical guidelines.