Evidence mapPaperPMID 40765844Full record

ArticleObesity science & practice2025

Prolonged Water-Only Fasting Followed by a Whole-Plant-Food Diet Promotes Fat-Free Mass Recovery and Continued Fat Mass Loss in Adults With Overweight or Obesity.

Sahmla Gabriel, Mackson Ncube, David M Goldman, Eugene Scharf, Alan C Goldhamer, Toshia R Myers

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Article in Obesity science & practice, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Sahmla GabrielTrueNorth Health Foundation Santa Rosa California USA.
Mackson NcubeTrueNorth Health Foundation Santa Rosa California USA.
David M GoldmanMetabite Inc. New York New York USA.
Eugene ScharfMayo Clinic Rochester Minnesota USA.
Alan C GoldhamerTrueNorth Health Center Santa Rosa California USA.
Toshia R MyersTrueNorth Health Foundation Santa Rosa California USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8328-7366

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Conventional weight-loss strategies often result in inadequate fat loss, poor sustainability, and unintended lean mass loss. Prolonged water-only fasting followed by dietary change may offer an effective alternative, but its impact on body composition remains underexplored. Methods: This secondary analysis utilized dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to assess changes in fat-free mass (FFM), fat mass (FM), and bone mineral content (BMC) in adults [median (IQR) age: 62 (15) years with overweight or obesity. Participants underwent a median (IQR) of 14 (6) days of water-only fasting, followed by 6 (3) days of food reintroduction with a whole-plant-food diet and a subsequent maintenance period of 45 (5) days. Study visits occurred at baseline and at the end of each period. Results: At end of fasting, FFM accounted for 74% of total BW lost during fasting. However, at the follow-up visit, the median (IQR) percentage change in total BW, FFM, FM, and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) mass from baseline was -8.2 (5.2), -4.4 (5.6), -14.7 (8.9), -15.8 (12.8) %, respectively. At follow-up, FM loss accounted for 67% of the total BW lost. BMC remained unchanged across all study visits. Conclusions: This protocol produced sustained FM loss, specifically VAT mass, and FFM recovery, suggesting it may support effective weight management.

Indexed as

obesityprolonged fastingVATwater‐only fastingweight‐losswhole‐plant‐food diet

Identifiers

PMID40765844
PMCPMC12322586

What Socratic holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.