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Findings reveal that 67% of users with obesity or overweight lost at least 5% of their starting weight within 6 months
OCTOBER 4, 2022 at 10:45 a.m. EDT—INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA: LifeOmic, a software company leveraging the cloud, machine learning, and mobile devices to power precision health and wellness solutions, today unveiled findings from a landmark intermittent fasting (IF) study conducted with scientists from Indiana University School of Medicine. The study, published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, quantifies user retention, fasting patterns, and weight loss in users of LifeOmic’s LIFE Apps suite of mobile apps: LIFE Fasting Tracker (LifeOmic’s fasting app) and LIFE Extend (LifeOmic’s Precision Wellness app). It is the largest research study of its kind to date, following nearly 800,000 users and tracking 26 million fasts over 2 years.
Globally, 13% of adults aged 18 years or older have obesity, while 39% have overweight. Within the United States, obesity is 3 times higher at 42.5% of the adult population, and by 2030, its prevalence is expected to approach 50%. IF has become an increasingly popular approach to help drive weight reduction in populations with overweight and obesity. IF focuses on the timing of eating rather than the quantity and content of caloric intake.
Key highlights from the study:
- Overall, 67% of LIFE Fasting Tracker and LIFE Extend users with a starting classification of overweight or obese lost 5% or more of their starting weight in just 26 weeks
- Overall, 39% of users lost 10% or more, reflecting the potential clinical value that is achievable
- People who fasted the most, either more frequently or longer, lost the most weight. For every hour of fasting per day beyond 12 hours, users lost over 1% more of their weight by 6 months
- Rates of weight loss success were higher in LIFE Fasting Tracker or LIFE Extend users than users of paid apps with active coaching, such as Noom and Livongo
Studies of intermittent fasting to date have been done in small populations and following strict protocols that don’t reflect the many fasting schedules that people follow normally. We’re proud of our research with renowned scientists at Indiana University School of Medicine, which looks at intermittent fasting behavior in the real world. Our results solidify the positive therapeutic effects intermittent fasting can have on metabolic diseases such as obesity. [Dr Benjamin Salisbury, scientific director at LifeOmic]
Purpose-built smartphone apps including LIFE Fasting Tracker and LIFE Extend have been used by millions of IF practitioners to help individuals track and maintain fasts while monitoring changes in weight and other biometrics. The findings demonstrate how IF using LIFE Fasting Tracker and LIFE Extend mobile apps is a sustainable approach to weight reduction in the overweight and obese population. The findings also demonstrate the safety of IF as healthy-weight individuals did not lose much weight on average, while those who were underweight gained a bit of weight on average over time.
We are excited that our 2-year study found that IF with a dedicated mobile app can be an effective and sustainable approach to weight loss and maintenance for some adults. These real-world studies are important for understanding the effects of practices like IF on a large population. We look forward to uncovering other impactful data in future collaborative research with LifeOmic. [Dr Joy Lee, assistant professor of medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine]
The study evaluated the fasting behavior of 800,000 LIFE Apps’ users ages 18-100 years from 2018 to 2020. It also examined weight loss in 160,000 users who tracked their weight for up to a year.
Indiana University has a 1.5% ownership interest in LifeOmic and its subsidiaries.
To learn more about LIFE Fasting, LIFE Extend, and LifeOmic’s other offerings, visit www.lifeomic.com.
Original article:
Torres L, Lee JL, Park S, Di Lorenzo RC, Branam JP, Fraser SA, Salisbury BA Retention, Fasting Patterns, and Weight Loss With an Intermittent Fasting App: Large-Scale, 52-Week Observational Study JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2022;10(10):e35896
URL: https://mhealth.jmir.org/2022/10/e35896
doi: 10.2196/35896
About LifeOmic:
LifeOmic is a software company that leverages the cloud, machine learning, and mobile devices to power precision health solutions. LifeOmic’s cloud-based software, Precision Health Cloud, securely aggregates, stores, and analyzes health data to power its entire suite of solutions, including the following: Precision Wellness for employers, LIFE Apps for individuals, Precision Recovery and Precision Oncology for providers and researchers, and Lifeology for health care and pharmaceutical companies. LifeOmic also offers a platform-as-a-service, allowing companies to build custom applications for health care. Combined, LifeOmic’s solutions span the health continuum to improve prevention, wellness, diagnosis, management, and research. To learn more about LifeOmic, visit lifeomic.com.
About Indiana University School of Medicine:
Indiana University School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the United States and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by the U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research, and a rich campus life in 9 Indiana cities including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability.
About JMIR mHealth and uHealth:
JMIR mHealth and uHealth is a leading peer-reviewed journal and one of the flagship journals of JMIR Publications. JMIR mHealth and uHealth has been published since 2013 and was the first mobile health journal indexed in PubMed. In June 2022, JMIR mHealth and uHealth received a Journal Impact Factor from Clarivate of 4.95 (5-year Journal Impact Factor: 5.65) and continues to be a Q1 journal in the category of “Healthcare Sciences and Services.” It is indexed in all major literature indices including MEDLINE, PubMed or PubMed Central, Scopus, PsycINFO, SCIE, JCR, EBSCO or EBSCO Essentials, DOAJ, GoOA, and others.
JMIR mHealth uHealth has a focus on health and biomedical applications in mobile and tablet computing, pervasive and ubiquitous computing, wearable computing and domotics.
About JMIR Publications:
JMIR Publications is a leading, born-digital, open-access publisher of 30+ academic journals and other innovative scientific communication products that focus on the intersection of health and technology. Its flagship journal, the Journal of Medical Internet Research, is the leading digital health journal globally in content breadth and visibility, and it is the largest journal in the medical informatics field.
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The content of this communication is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, published by JMIR Publications, is properly cited. JMIR is a registered trademark of JMIR Publications.
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