The 5:2 diet was the third diet that Moseley looked at, the first one being a true fasting diet, calorie restriction rather like the Newcastle diet and the second was alternate day fasting. His primary interest was the effect fasting had on the IGF growth hormone and the benefits for protecting against cancer. Although much was made about the possible weight loss on 5:2 it was only really based on the fact that the day after fasting, people ate no more than 125% of their normal diet. If someone ate 2,400 cals per day, ie 16,800 per week, on 5:2 diet they's eat 3 x 2400 + 2 x 600 + 2 x 3000, ie 14,400. One is supposed to lose weight on the 2,400 calories per week saving. It's not much different from cutting down by 400 cals per day and by the time Moseley got onto this part of the programme, the IGF stuff seemed to have taken a back burner. You will lose weight to begin with but it will stop fairly soon and you will have to supplement the diet with an increase in exercise.
Calorie restriction appears to provide several benefits but it cannot of course be maintained indefinitely so the research moves onto alternate day fasting. Does it offer the same benefits and can it be maintained indefinitely? The research done is mostly on rats and mice, but there are indications that some experiments show that it does offer these benefits. I'm not aware of and such research on 5:2 fasting plans though.
Improvements in body fat distribution and circulating adiponectin by alternate-day fasting versus calorie restriction
http://www.jnutbio.com/article/S0955-28 ... 7/abstract
