Abstract

CORREIA, Joana M; PEZARAT-CORREIA, Pedro  and  MENDONCA, Gonçalo V. EFFECTS OF INTERMITTENT FASTING ON BODY COMPOSITION AND PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE. Acta Port Nutr [online]. 2021, n.27, pp.28-36.  Epub Mar 16, 2022. ISSN 2183-5985.  https://doi.org/10.21011/apn.2021.2706.

The scientific community currently expresses a high level of interest in intermittent fasting - periods of voluntary abstinence from energy intake, ranging from several hours to days. Intermittent fasting is clinically relevant and may represent an effective non- pharmacological strategy to improve physical performance and body composition. It has been studied mainly in athletes during the religious period of Ramadan and in people predisposed to decrease body fat without loss of fat-free mass parallel. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the impact of intermittent fasting during Ramadan vs. non-Ramadan intermittent fasting in terms of physical performance and body composition. The literature shows some inconsistencies in terms of the interaction between intermittent fasting and physical performance. However, non-Ramadan intermittent fasting is found to be effective in improving maximal aerobic power. Nevertheless, this intervention reduces performance during the repeated sprints over the first few days of intervention. On the other hand, intermittent fasting during Ramadan being the maximum aerobic power and this is more expressive during the second half of this religious period. However, both interventions are manifestly innocuous in terms of muscle strength and anaerobic capacity. With regard to body composition, there is greater consensus. According to available data, both interventions encourage beneficial adaptations at this level. Still, fat loss is more pronounced with intermittent non-Ramadan fasting.

Keywords : Performance; Fat mass; Nutrition; Maximum aerobic power; Training.

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