Salah Eddine El Herrag

PhD in Cell Biology and Pathology | Oncology & Cancer Research

Cardiometabolic and Obesity Risk Outcomes of Dawn-to-Dusk, Dry Intermittent Fasting: Insights from an Umbrella Review


Journal article


MoezAlIslam Faris, N. Abdelrahim Dana, Salah Eddine El Herrag, Khaled Meghit Boumediene, Abu Shihab Katia, AlKurd Refat, Madkour Mohammed
Clinical Nutrition ESPEN, vol. 67, 2025, pp. 127-145


Cite

Cite

APA   Click to copy
Faris, M. A. I., Dana, N. A., El Herrag, S. E., Meghit Boumediene, K., Katia, A. S., Refat, A. K., & Mohammed, M. (2025). Cardiometabolic and Obesity Risk Outcomes of Dawn-to-Dusk, Dry Intermittent Fasting: Insights from an Umbrella Review. Clinical Nutrition ESPEN, 67, 127–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnesp.2025.03.006


Chicago/Turabian   Click to copy
Faris, MoezAlIslam, N. Abdelrahim Dana, Salah Eddine El Herrag, Khaled Meghit Boumediene, Abu Shihab Katia, AlKurd Refat, and Madkour Mohammed. “Cardiometabolic and Obesity Risk Outcomes of Dawn-to-Dusk, Dry Intermittent Fasting: Insights from an Umbrella Review.” Clinical Nutrition ESPEN 67 (2025): 127–145.


MLA   Click to copy
Faris, MoezAlIslam, et al. “Cardiometabolic and Obesity Risk Outcomes of Dawn-to-Dusk, Dry Intermittent Fasting: Insights from an Umbrella Review.” Clinical Nutrition ESPEN, vol. 67, 2025, pp. 127–45, doi:10.1016/j.clnesp.2025.03.006.


BibTeX   Click to copy

@article{faris2025a,
  title = {Cardiometabolic and Obesity Risk Outcomes of Dawn-to-Dusk, Dry Intermittent Fasting: Insights from an Umbrella Review},
  year = {2025},
  journal = {Clinical Nutrition ESPEN},
  pages = {127-145},
  volume = {67},
  doi = {10.1016/j.clnesp.2025.03.006},
  author = {Faris, MoezAlIslam and Dana, N. Abdelrahim and El Herrag, Salah Eddine and Meghit Boumediene, Khaled and Katia, Abu Shihab and Refat, AlKurd and Mohammed, Madkour}
}

 Abstract

Background & aims

This umbrella review comprehensively and systematically summarizes meta-analyses on the impact of dawn-to-dusk, dry intermittent fasting of Ramadan (RIF) on cardiometabolic and glucose homeostasis indicators.

Methods

Twenty meta-analyses were examined on the effects of RIF on body fat percentage (BFP), fat mass, fat-free mass, body mass index (BMI), body weight (BW), waist circumference (WC), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C), fasting blood glucose (FBG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), serum insulin, leptin, and adiponectin. Results of continuous outcomes were pooled from included meta-analyses. We employed random-effects meta-analysis using the restricted maximum likelihood method to estimate heterogeneity. P-values were derived from standard meta-analytic tests, including Egger's test for small-study effects and the excess significance test for potential publication bias. Additionally, we applied criteria from Ioannidis' evidence classification to assess the credibility of the findings.

Results

In healthy subjects, RIF was associated with significant reductions in BW (Hedges' G = −0.33; 95 % confidence interval (CI) = −0.37, −0.29; p-value = 2.63 × 10–52), WC (Hedges' G = −0.30; 95 % CI = −0.38, −0.23; p-value = 5.73 × 10–15), BFP (Hedges' G = −0.26; 95 % CI = −0.37, −0.14; p-value = 6.81 × 10-06), DBP (n = 3,456; Hedges' G = −0.26; 95 % CI = −0.38, −0.15; p-value = 9.18 × 10-06), TC (n = 9,314; Hedges' G = −0.16; 95 % CI = −0.25, −0.07; p-value = 6.27 × 10-04), and TG levels (n = 9,020; Hedges' G = −0.16; 95 % CI = −0.24, −0.08; p-value = 6.87 × 10-05). Moreover, in general population, TG (n = 16,688; Hedges' G = −0.15; 95 % CI = −0.22, −0.08; p-value <0.01) and FBG (n = 16,106; Hedges’ G = −0.23; 95 % CI = −0.33, −0.13; p-value <0.01) were significantly reduced.

Conclusions

Dawn-to-dusk, dry RIF shows promise as a complementary therapy and preventive measure for reducing cardiometabolic and obesity-related risks. However, controlled studies are necessary to validate its effectiveness and fully understand its health implications. 
 

Keywords

Intermittent fasting; Time-restricted eating; Cardiometabolic health; Body composition; Glucose metabolism