Intermittent Fasting Linked to Higher Risk of Cardiovascular Death, Study Claims

New research from the American Heart Association’s recent event in Chicago suggests that how long we eat each day could impact our heart health. Scientists looked at data from more than 20,000 adults in the United States.

They found that those who ate within a shorter time frame of less than 8 hours a day, following a plan called time-restricted eating (intermittent fasting), had a higher risk of dying from heart disease compared to those who spread their meals over 12 to 16 hours a day.

What is time-restricted eating?

Time-restricted eating, a form of intermittent fasting, means you eat only during certain hours of the day. This could be anywhere from 4 to 12 hours out of a 24-hour period.

Many people who practice this kind of eating stick to what’s called a 16:8 schedule. That means they eat all their meals within an 8-hour window and then fast for the other 16 hours each day, according to the American Heart Association (AHA).

In previous studies, researchers discovered that time-restricted eating can have some positive effects on our heart and metabolic health. It can help keep blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels in check.

“Restricting daily eating time to a short period, such as 8 hours per day, has gained popularity in recent years as a way to lose weight and improve heart health,” said senior study author Victor Wenze Zhong. “However, the long-term health effects of time-restricted eating, including risk of death from any cause or cardiovascular disease, are unknown.”

Intermittent fasting linked to higher risk of cardiovascular death

The new study focused on exploring how sticking to an eight-hour time-restricted eating plan could affect our health over a long period. To do this, researchers looked at details about what people ate from the yearly 2003-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES).

They compared this information with data on people who passed away in the U.S. from 2003 to December 2019, gathered from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Death Index database.

The study discovered that people who ate all their meals in less than eight hours each day faced a much higher risk of dying from heart problems—91 percent higher. This risk was also found among those dealing with heart disease or cancer.

Even for those already with heart issues, sticking to an eating window of at least eight but less than ten hours daily meant a 66 percent increased risk of dying from heart-related problems.

Moreover, while time-restricted eating didn’t lower the overall risk of dying from anything, eating within a span of over sixteen hours each day was linked to a lower risk of dying from cancer for people already diagnosed with the disease.