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Intermittent fasting for weight loss in night shift workers: a three-arm, superiority randomised clinical trial
24-week three-arm superiority RCT (n=250 night-shift workers with overweight/obesity; 68% retention) found no significant advantage of two modified intermittent-fasting schedules (two 2100 kJ days positioned on off-days vs on night-shift days) over continuous energy restriction for co-primary weight change or HOMA-IR at 24 weeks.
Design
- Setting: Melbourne + Adelaide; parallel three-arm superiority RCT
- Population: night-shift workers 25–65 y with overweight/obesity
- Interventions: continuous energy restriction (CER) vs modified IF (2100 kJ/d on two days/week) either on days off / day shifts (IF:2D) or on night-shift days (IF:2N); usual diet other five days
- Co-primaries at 24 weeks: body weight and HOMA-IR
- Randomised: 250 (CER n=85; IF:2D n=83; IF:2N n=82); 170 (68%) completed per abstract flow
Null superiority vs CER (abstract mean differences)
- Weight — IF:2D vs CER: −0.2 kg (95% CI −6.4 to 5.9)
- Weight — IF:2N vs CER: −0.6 kg (−6.8 to 5.6)
- HOMA-IR — IF:2D vs CER: −0.1 (−1.0 to 0.8)
- HOMA-IR — IF:2N vs CER: −0.3 (−0.5 to 1.2)
Evidence hygiene
Industry-relevant population where shift timing confounds many nutrition trials—use this row to temper generic IF app claims for nocturnal workers without individualised dietitian support.
Publication
Bonham MP, Bertz F, Calton E, et al. EBioMedicine. 2025 Jul;117:103991. PMID 40554393.
Outcomes
- Co-primary body weight at 24 w vs CER: IF:2D MD −0.2 kg (95% CI −6.4 to 5.9) and IF:2N MD −0.6 kg (95% CI −6.8 to 5.6)—non-superiority in night-shift workers with overweight/obesity.
- Co-primary HOMA-IR at 24 w vs CER: IF:2D MD −0.1 (95% CI −1.0 to 0.8) and IF:2N MD −0.3 (95% CI −0.5 to 1.2)—differences cross null.