Originally Posted by
terrymorse
A few things from this study poster are concerning. For the < 8-hour restricted eating group, which had the higher risk of CVD death:
- they had the highest BMI of all groups (29.9 vs 28.5 reference group)
- they self-reported a higher rate of CVD to begin with (8.6% vs 7.7% for reference group)
- they self-reported the highest rate of smoking (27.1% vs 16.9% reference group)
- they had the largest percentage of Black participants (23.2% vs 6.6% reference group)
- they were the smallest group in the study (414 out of 20,078), with just 31 CVD deaths
These are all reasons to be skeptical of this reported higher risk of CVD death from intermittent fasting.
Your concerns (about BMI, CVD, smoking, and race) were their concerns, which is why the risk model adjusted for "age, sex,
race, total energy intake, education, income, food security status,
smoking, drinking status, leisure time physical activity, diet quality score,
BMI, BMI squared, and self-reported health condition status." In addition, the analysis looked at separate
CVD status. But you're absolutely right that the most time-restricted group was the smallest.