5:2 diet

The 5:2 diet, or fast diet, is a diet which stipulates calorie restriction for two non-consecutive days a week and unconstrained eating the other five days. The diet originated and became popular in the UK, and spread in Europe and to the USA.[1] It is a form of intermittent fasting.[2]

Proponents of the diet claim it causes weight loss and has some beneficial effects on health; however these claims are not supported by high quality evidence.[3]

Description

The diet specifies a low calorie consumption (sometimes described as "fasting") for two days a week, which should not be consecutive, but allows unmoderated[4][5] eating for the other five days.[6] Men may eat 600 calories (2,500 kJ) on fasting days, and women 500 calories (2,100 kJ).[7] A typical fasting day may include a breakfast of 300 calories (1,300 kJ), such as two scrambled eggs with ham, water, green tea, or black coffee, and a lunch or dinner of grilled fish or meat with vegetables, amounting to 300 calories.[6]

Proponents say that fasting for only two days a week may be easier for dieters to comply with than daily calorie restriction.[6]

Evidence

There is limited evidence of the diet's safety and effectiveness.[3]

According to NHS Choices, people considering the diet should first consult a physician, as fasting can sometimes be unsafe.[3]

Reception

The diet became popular in the UK after[1] the BBC2 television Horizon documentary Eat, Fast and Live Longer [8] written and presented by Michael Mosley was broadcast on 6 August 2012 and many books on the diet quickly became bestsellers, soon after.[9]

The diet has enjoyed media attention and celebrity endorsement,[10][11] but the UK National Health Service and its critics have termed it a fad diet.[12][13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "The UK's Hot New 5:2 Diet Craze Hits The U.S. - Weight Loss Miracle?". Forbes. 17 May 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  2. ↑ Emma Young, New Scientist (2 January 2013). "Hunger games: The new science of fasting". Thomasville Times Enterprise. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "Does the 5:2 intermittent fasting diet work?". Health News - NHS Choices. UK National Health Service. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2014. Champions of the 5:2 diet claim that other than helping people lose weight, 5:2 diet can bring other significant health benefits ...
  4. ↑ Mosley, Michael. "The 5:2 diet: can it help you lose weight and live longer?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 September 2012. With this regimen you eat what you want five days a week...
  5. ↑ Emma Young, New Scientist (2 January 2013). "Hunger games: The new science of fasting". Thomasville Times Enterprise. Retrieved 3 January 2013. ...I am allowed to eat whatever I want on the five non-fast days.
  6. 1 2 3 Mosley, Michael. "The 5:2 diet: can it help you lose weight and live longer?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  7. ↑ "The 5:2 diet - Can starving yourself twice a week make you live longer?". Yahoo! Lifestyle. 7 September 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  8. ↑ Mosley, Michael (5 September 2012). "Eat, Fast & Live Longer". Horizon. Episode 49x03. BBC. 2. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  9. ↑ Stone, Philip (22 February 2013). "Public appetite for fasting grows: four intermittent fasting titles earn bestseller status; Mary Berry beats Paul Hollywood in a baking battle; and children's sales slump due to a calendar quirk". The Bookseller: 17.
  10. ↑ "A Weight Loss Plan That Lets You Have Your Cake And Eat It Too". Huffington Post. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  11. ↑ "Mimi Spencer's fabulous 5:2 fast beach diet: Lose up to 12lb in 6 weeks!". Daily Mail. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  12. ↑ "How to diet". Live Well - NHS Choices. UK National Health Service. 9 December 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  13. ↑ Trueland J (2013). "Fast and effective?". Nursing Standard (Pictorial) 28 (16): 26–27. doi:10.7748/ns2013.12.28.16.26.s28.
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