Isn’t it just as likely that the 8% reduction in calories gave all the benefits? I briefly read the study and it didn’t seem like they had a reduced calorie group without time restrictions. Thoughts anyone?
Depends. I'm sure for some people it does work. I don't understand those people, because I, like many people who put on a whole lot of weight, am a food addict. Give me only an hour in which to eat, with no other restrictions, and I will find a way to shove as much food into my maw as I can. I know this from experience.
It makes much more sense to just track calories directly and stop lying to yourself.
Making people feel bad about the methods they choose is real-world harmful. Maybe "advice" like yours won't actually kill anyone, but people who become discouraged by that drumbeat of negativity could experience some ill effects. Be glad that what works for you works for you, but please stop pissing on everyone else.
But so much of eating for those (like me) who are subject to binge eating and being overweight, the time restriction brings about a means of control that can help replace the compulsion that contributes to overeating. And that time control brings other positive side effects such as calorie reduction, a smaller window to exercise control over food quality, and education on food discipline.
I’m not an expert, but I think intermittent fasting generally falls into the same category as going vegetarian or going carnivore or avoiding gluten: the result is almost always a healthier overall diet and more manageable calorie load than what the person was eating before. But the gimmick, which is mostly just a means of control and introduces discipline, takes most of the credit.
A lot of people experience similar changes when they write down everything they eat in a food journal. They aren't necessarily changing the types of food they eat, but thinking about it more decreases mindless eating.
That's regarding weight loss alone. Various health and cognitive benefits are usually talked about in the context of intermittent fasting, and that seems to arise from being fasted rather than from being in a deficit.
> the person wouldn't have the burden of tracking calories
Reducing the window of time in which you can eat is effective at cutting calories but it isn't a panacea and it's important the cause for the effect is communicated. Otherwise we'll get the "no, I can eat 3 servings of cake with dinner, it's before 8pm".
The part that is interesting is that by instructing people to have their last meal earlier they naturally reduced their caloric intake without being instructed to do so.