Safety, health improvement, and expression of aging-related genes during 10-day periodic fasting in overweight and obesity

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the safety, health improvement, and expression of aging-related gene inhibition during a 10-day periodic fasting (PF) in individuals with overweight and obesity. A quasi-experimental design consisting of control groups (CG) and 10-day PF groups (PFG) was conducted among 40 participants. The pre-and post-tests involved measuring various health parameters (vital signs, anthropometric measurements, fasting glucose (FG), binge eating disorder (BED), and quality of life (QoL)), as well as gene expression of the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). PF can significantly reduce several health parameters in PFG, including systolic blood pressure (SBP), FG, and anthropometric measurements (all p < 0.05). The post-test expression of mTORC1 in PFG was 0.13-fold, significantly lower than the pre-test level (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in BED and QoL scores between the pre-test and post-test in either group (p > 0.05). Only 3.1% of participants had mild complaints during fasting. A 10-day PF has been reported to be safe and effective in improving numerous health indicators, preventing BED, maintaining QoL, and inhibiting the expression of the aging-related gene (mTORC1) in individuals with overweight and obesity.