Intermittent Fasting, Nutritional Supplementation, and Resistance Training as Strategy for Body Weight Loss: An Update

Abstract

Obesity is a multifactorial disease, affecting, along with overweight, over a third of the adult population worldwide. Although weight control is beneficial, the problem of poor compliance in weight loss programs is well known. Therefore, different strategies have been described against overweight. Among them, strategies such as intermittent fasting, time-restricted feeding and Ramadan fasting have been identified. In recent years, other strategies such as nutritional supplementation have gained significance on weight loss, mainly due to focusing on body composition is even more important than overall weight. In this sense, consumption of nutritional supplements in athletes and sedentary people have shown beneficial effects. Also, supplement intake such, protein, creatine and beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate; combined with resistance training resulted in an increased body weight and fat-free mass. So, although resistance training increases muscle mass and resting metabolic rate, it does not result in weight loss without caloric restriction. Despite this, it seems even without caloric restriction, has favorable effect on body composition because it decreases fat mass, including abdominal fat. According to the evidence, our review suggests that a strategy for improving body composition might be to use a mixed protocol that includes intermittent fasting, nutritional supplementation intake, and resistance training.