INTERMITTENT FASTING: LITERATURE REVIEW WITH BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS

Hanna  Hordiienko; Vitalii  Sikora

doi:10.21272/eumj.2025;13(4);941-951

Hanna Hordiienko Department of Morphology, Sumy State University, Sumy, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0009-0008-9188-568X
Vitalii Sikora Department of Morphology, Sumy State University, Sumy, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6545-8678

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21272/eumj.2025;13(4);941-951

Keywords: intermittent fasting, diet, food restriction, weight control, physiology, metabolism, autophagy, bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Introduction. Intermittent fasting is a dietary approach that has gained phenomenal popularity in the last decade. Unlike traditional calorie restriction or restriction of certain foods, it is based on limiting the time during which food can be consumed.

The aim of the work was to conduct a literature review with bibliometric analysis of scientific articles on the topic of intermittent fasting.

Materials and methods. The authors searched the literature sources in the database using the keyword “intermittent fasting”. The built-in elements of the bibliometric analysis of the Scopus database and the VOSviewer program (version 1.6.20, https://www.vosviewer.com/) were used to analyse the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the publications.

Results. Between 1946 and 2025, 3056 publications were published in the Scopus database with the keyword “intermittent fasting”, and their number has increased significantly over the past 10 years. During the bibliometric analysis of publications by the most common keywords, it was found that the most frequently encountered words together with the phrase “intermittent fasting” were such words as “diet”, “physiology”, “obesity”, “metabolism”, “body weight”, and “animal models”.

Conclusions. Intermittent fasting is characterised by a complex effect on the human body: it improves insulin sensitivity, stimulates autophagy, and regulates circadian rhythms. Intermittent fasting has a significant impact on body weight loss and may also reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, as well as improve cognitive function. Despite the large body of research on the benefits of intermittent fasting, its safety remains questionable. Further long-term studies of this dietary approach in animal models and human populations are needed.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

de Cabo R, Mattson MP. Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Health, Aging, and Disease. N Engl J Med. 2019;381(26):2541–51. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmra1905136

Patterson RE, Sears DD. Metabolic Effects of Intermittent Fasting. Annu Rev Nutr. 2017;37:371–93. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-nutr-071816-064634

Mattson MP, Longo VD, Harvie M. Impact of intermittent fasting on health and disease processes. Ageing Res Rev. 2017;39:46–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2016.10.005

Anton SD, Moehl K, Donahoo WT, Marosi K, Lee SA, Mainous AG, et al. Flipping the Metabolic Switch: Understanding and Applying the Health Benefits of Fasting. Obesity. 2018;26(2):254–68. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.22065

Longo VD, Panda S. Fasting, Circadian Rhythms, and Time-Restricted Feeding in Healthy Lifespan. Cell Metab. 2016;23(6):1048–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2016.06.001

Wilhelmi De Toledo F, Buchinger A, Burggrabe H, Hölz G, Kuhn C, Lischka E, et al. Fasting therapy - An expert panel update of the 2002 consensus guidelines. Forsch Komplementarmed. 2013;20(6):434–43. https://doi.org/10.1159/000357602

Ganesan K, Habboush Y, Sultan S. Intermittent Fasting: The Choice for a Healthier Lifestyle. Cureus. 2018; https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.2947

Harvie M, Howell A. Potential benefits and harms of intermittent energy restriction and intermittent fasting amongst obese, overweight and normal weight subjects-A narrative review of human and animal evidence. Behav Sci (Basel). 2017;7(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/bs7010004

Stockman MC, Thomas D, Burke J, Apovian CM. Intermittent Fasting: Is the Wait Worth the Weight? Curr Obes Rep. 2018;7(2):172–85. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-018-0308-9

Klionsky DJ, Petroni G, Amaravadi RK, Baehrecke EH, Ballabio A, Boya P, et al. Autophagy in major human diseases. EMBO J. 2021;40(19). https://doi.org/10.15252/embj.2021108863.

Khan S, Barve KH, Kumar MS. Recent Advancements in Pathogenesis, Diagnostics and Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease. Curr Neuropharmacol. 2020;18(11):1106–25. https://doi.org/10.2174/1570159X18666200528142429

Mattson MP, Moehl K, Ghena N, Schmaedick M, Cheng A. Intermittent metabolic switching, neuroplasticity and brain health. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2018;19(2):81–94. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn.2017.156

Kim BH, Joo Y, Kim MS, Choe HK, Tong Q, Kwon O. Effects of intermittent fasting on the circulating levels and circadian rhythms of hormones. Endocrinol Metab. 2021;36(4):745–56. https://doi.org/10.3803/EnM.2021.405

Lal H, Verma SK, Wang Y, Xie M, Young ME. Circadian Rhythms in Cardiovascular Metabolism. Circ Res. 2024;134(6):635–58. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.123.323520

Daas MC, De Roos NM. Intermittent fasting contributes to aligned circadian rhythms through interactions with the gut microbiome. Benef Microbes. 2021;12(2):147–61. https://doi.org/10.3920/BM2020.0149

Almeneessier A, Bahammam A, Sharif M, Bahammam S, Nashwan S, Pandi Perumal S, et al. The influence of intermittent fasting on the circadian pattern of melatonin while controlling for caloric intake, energy expenditure, light exposure, and sleep schedules: A preliminary report. Ann Thorac Med. 2017;12(3):183–90. https://doi.org/10.4103/ATM.ATM_15_17

Reddy BL, Reddy VS, Saier MH. Health Benefits of Intermittent Fasting. Microb Physiol. 2024;34(1):142–52. https://doi.org/10.1159/000540068

Mathus-Vliegen E, Spångeus A, Walter S, Ericson AC. Weight loss with or without intragastric balloon causes divergent effects on ghrelin cell expression. Obes Sci Pract. 2021;7(2):199–207. https://doi.org/10.1002/osp4.478

Chaudhary MR, Chaudhary S, Sharma Y, Singh TA, Mishra AK, Sharma S, et al. Aging, oxidative stress and degenerative diseases: mechanisms, complications and emerging therapeutic strategies. Biogerontology. 2023;24(5):609–62. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10522-023-10050-1

Tinsley GM, Horne BD. Intermittent fasting and cardiovascular disease: Current evidence and unresolved questions. Future Cardiol. 2018;14(1):47–54. https://doi.org/10.2217/fca-2017-0038

Mayor E. Neurotrophic effects of intermittent fasting, calorie restriction and exercise: a review and annotated bibliography. Front Aging. 2023;4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fragi.2023.1161814

Kumar A, Karuppagounder SS, Chen Y, Corona C, Kawaguchi R, Cheng Y, et al. 2-Deoxyglucose drives plasticity via an adaptive ER stress-ATF4 pathway and elicits stroke recovery and Alzheimer’s resilience. Neuron. 2023;111(18):2831-2846.e10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2023.06.013

Ameroso D, Meng A, Chen S, Felsted J, Dulla CG, Rios M. Astrocytic BDNF signaling within the ventromedial hypothalamus regulates energy homeostasis. Nat Metab. 2022;4(5):627–43. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-022-00566-0

Townsend LK, Steinberg GR. AMPK and the Endocrine Control of Metabolism. Endocr Rev. 2023;44(5):910–33. https://doi.org/10.1210/endrev/bnad012

Hirschey MD, Shimazu T, Goetzman E, Jing E, Schwer B, Lombard DB, et al. SIRT3 regulates mitochondrial fatty-acid oxidation by reversible enzyme deacetylation. Nature. 2010;464(7285):121–5. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08778

Shahawy S, Al Kassab L, Rattani A. Ramadan fasting and pregnancy: an evidence-based guide for the obstetrician. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2023;228(6):689–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2023.03.023

Semnani-Azad Z, Khan TA, Chiavaroli L, Chen V, Bhatt HA, Chen A, et al. Intermittent fasting strategies and their effects on body weight and other cardiometabolic risk factors: Systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials. Bmj. 2025; https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2024-082007

Stice E, Gau JM, Rohde P, Shaw H. Risk factors that predict future onset of each DSM-5 eating disorder: Predictive specificity in high-risk adolescent females. J Abnorm Psychol. 2017;126(1):38–51. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000219

Nowosad K, Sujka M. Effect of Various Types of Intermittent Fasting (IF) on Weight Loss and Improvement of Diabetic Parameters in Human. Curr Nutr Rep. 2021;10(2):146–54. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13668-021-00353-5

Salvadori G, Zanardi F, Iannelli F, Lobefaro R, Vernieri C, Longo VD. Fasting-mimicking diet blocks triple-negative breast cancer and cancer stem cell escape. Cell Metab. 2021;33(11):2247-2259.e6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2021.10.008

Sutton EF, Beyl R, Early KS, Cefalu WT, Ravussin E, Peterson CM. Early Time-Restricted Feeding Improves Insulin Sensitivity, Blood Pressure, and Oxidative Stress Even without Weight Loss in Men with Prediabetes. Cell Metab. 2018;27(6):1212-1221.e3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2018.04.010

Moro T, Tinsley G, Bianco A, Marcolin G, Pacelli QF, Battaglia G, et al. Effects of eight weeks of time-restricted feeding (16/8) on basal metabolism, maximal strength, body composition, inflammation, and cardiovascular risk factors in resistance-trained males. J Transl Med. 2016;14(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-016-1044-0

Rynders CA, Thomas EA, Zaman A, Pan Z, Catenacci VA, Melanson EL. Effectiveness of intermittent fasting and time-restricted feeding compared to continuous energy restriction for weight loss. Nutrients. 2019;11(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11102442

Varady KA, Bhutani S, Klempel MC, Kroeger CM, Trepanowski JF, Haus JM, et al. Alternate day fasting for weight loss in normal weight and overweight subjects: A randomized controlled trial. Nutr J. 2013;12(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2891-12-146

Trepanowski JF, Kroeger CM, Barnosky A, Klempel MC, Bhutani S, Hoddy KK, et al. Effect of Alternate-Day Fasting on Weight Loss, Weight Maintenance, and Cardioprotection Among Metabolically Healthy Obese Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2017 Jul 1; 177(7):930–8. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.0936

Cioffi I, Evangelista A, Ponzo V, Ciccone G, Soldati L, Santarpia L, et al. Intermittent versus continuous energy restriction on weight loss and cardiometabolic outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. J Transl Med. 2018;16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-018-1748-4

Lowe DA, Wu N, Rohdin-Bibby L, Moore AH, Kelly N, Liu YE, et al. Effects of Time-Restricted Eating on Weight Loss and Other Metabolic Parameters in Women and Men with Overweight and Obesity: The TREAT Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2020;180(11):1491–9. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.4153