Intermittent fasting unsafe for teenagers

New Delhi: While intermittent fasting is hugely popular for weight loss and other health conditions, study on Friday claimed it may be unsafe for teenagers, as it may impair their cell development.

A team of German researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), LMU Hospital Munich, and Helmholtz Munich showed that age plays a significant role in the outcomes of intermittent fasting.

Intermittent fasting is a dietary approach, which restricts daily eating to one six- to eight-hour period each day, and is known to help people with diabetes, and heart disease besides enabling weight loss.

The research, published in the journal Cell Reports, showed that chronic intermittent fasting disrupted the development of insulin-producing beta cells in young mice.

“Our study confirms that intermittent fasting is beneficial for adults, but it might come with risks for children and teenagers,” said Stephan Herzig, a professor at TUM and director of the Institute for Diabetes and Cancer at Helmholtz Munich.

In the study adolescent, adult, and older mice remained without food for one day and were fed normally for days.

After 10 weeks, insulin sensitivity improved in both the adult and older mice, meaning that their metabolism responded better to insulin produced by the pancreas. This is key to regulating blood sugar levels and preventing conditions like Type 2 diabetes.

However, the adolescent mice showed a troubling decline in their beta cell function - the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. Insufficient insulin production is linked to diabetes and disrupted metabolism.

“Intermittent fasting is usually thought to benefit beta cells, so we were surprised to find that young mice produced less insulin after the extended fasting,” explained Leonardo Matta from Helmholtz Munich.

When the team analysed the cause of the beta cell impairment in the pancreas, they found that the beta cells in the younger mice failed to mature properly.

Comparing the findings with data from human tissues, the study showed that patients with Type 1 diabetes - where beta cells are destroyed by an autoimmune response - showed similar signs of impaired cell maturation.