Intermittent fasting helps breast cancer survivors limit their CVD risk

Older, overweight breast cancer survivors may be able to limit their risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) through time-restricted eating, according to a new analysis in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.[1]

The study focused on 22 participants who were over the age of 60, had a body mass index of 25 or more and had completed cardiotoxic chemotherapy treatments. The patients were asked to limit their eating to the hours of 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays. After just eight weeks of following the restrictions, participants’ median 10-year Framingham Risk Score dropped 15%, decreasing from 10.9% to 8.6%. 

Framingham Risk Scores under 10% are classified as “low risk,” the study noted, and breast cancer survivors at a low risk experience 38% fewer cardiac events than those at intermediate risk. 

“This rigorously designed, well-executed single-arm feasibility study generates important hypotheses and questions about the role of time restricted eating relevant to cancer survivors,” said Bonnie Ky, MD, MSCE, editor-in-chief of JACC: CardioOncology in an official statement about the study. 

In addition to fasting for 16 hours per day, participants also kept records of what they ate during the final week of the study. Compared with records of what they ate before the study began, researchers found that time-restricted eating was also associated with a median drop of 450 calories per day per participant.  

The decrease in caloric intake was noteworthy because participants could eat anything they wanted during the eight-hour daily window. Outside of the window, they were asked to limit themselves to water, black coffee, and black tea.