Impact of Intermittent Fasting on Physical and Mental Health

Abstract

In recent years, intermittent fasting (IF) has gained popularity among some of the easier diets to follow. IF concentrates more on when food is consumed rather than what is consumed. This research aims to explore the impact of IF using the 16:8 method protocol with symptoms of mental health i.e., depression, anxiety, stress, and the effect it has on physical health. Since most of the current research on IF focuses on physical effects, this paper will add to existing research by studying the impact of IF on mental health as well. An uncontrolled pre-post design was adopted for this research. This study consisted of eleven participants (N = 11) who were asked to follow IF for four weeks. Its effects were studied on different physical and mental health variables using DASS-21, QOLS, and IPAQ. The results of the research were not statistically significant. However, when calculating effect sizes the pattern of results shows improved depression, anxiety, and stress levels. The participants showed improvement in their quality of living and some increase in their physical activity levels. This study can be further expanded by increasing its scope in terms of the duration of IF and the number of participants.