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What Clinicians Need to Know About Intermittent Fasting for Type 2 Diabetes, with Felicia Steger, MD
Steger discussed the importance of tailoring diet strategies to patients with type 2 diabetes.
A 6-month lifestyle intervention found that both time-restricted eating (TRE) and intermittent energy restriction (IER) led to clinical improvements in HbA1c, glucose AUC, and body weight in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D).
Findings from the intervention were presented by primary investigator Felicia Steger, PhD, RD, Assistant Professor, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Kansas Medical Center, at the 2025 American Diabetes Association (ADA) Scientific Sessions, held June 20-23, in Chicago, Illinois.
HCPLive spoke with Steger during the meeting to learn more about IER and TRE, also known as intermittent fasting, and its potential benefits for people with T2D. She emphasized that these are just 2 of many diet interventions that have demonstrated some efficacy in managing T2D, and it is important to better determine who might benefit more from 1 intervention or another. Ideally, this would be determined by comparative studies that could inform guidelines on best-fit patient populations. Besides clinical baseline factors, willingness and adherence are paramount for IER and TRE and may be more feasible for some patients compared to others. She also gave advice for clinicians on navigating conversations with patients that may be interested in IER and TRE, and on important considerations when managing patients engaged in these interventions, especially frequent monitoring of glucose levels.
“Intermittent fasting currently is sort of the new exciting approach to dietary modification, and like I mentioned earlier, we really don't have a lot of data to suggest that it's more effective than changing what you're eating, starting an exercise program, etc,” Steger said. “So, I think it's important to talk to the patient and really try to understand, are they assuming that intermittent fasting might be an easier approach to follow? Or what are their reasons for wanting to try intermittent fasting as opposed to another recommended approach that we have really good, strong longitudinal data to support?”
Steger has no relevant disclosures to report.
