Intermittent fasting -- limiting eating to a small part of the day -- is very popular these days. But that doesn't mean it's healthy.
A new study published online in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics suggests that people who skipped meals, fasted or ate their meals too closely together overall had higher risks of premature death.
"At a time when intermittent fasting is widely touted as a solution for weight loss, metabolic health and disease prevention, our study is important for the large segment of American adults who eat fewer than three meals each day," said lead author Dr. Yangbo Sun. She's an assistant professor of preventive medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
“Our research revealed that individuals eating only one meal a day are more likely to die than those who had more daily meals," Sun said in a journal news release.