How Long Should A Person Fast To Burn Fat?

Fasting has been proven to be beneficial for the brain, heart and body. While scientists continue to contribute to its growing list of health benefits, a new study says fasting for six hours could help burn more fat.

The Huffington Post reported that a study recently discovered how fasting within a 6-hour window (8 a.m. to 2 p.m.) is more effective in burning fat than fasting in a 12-hour window (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.). Although researchers say that the 6 percent difference was not as significant, hunger levels were apparently more stable after a person fasted for 6 hours.

"It kind of makes sense," according to Courtney Peterson, the study's lead author and an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. "Your body's fat-burning ability peaks after you've been fasting for 12 to 14 hours."

For the study, 11 overweight participants from age 20 to 45 consumed all their calories within 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the fourth day of the first trial week. The group then came back for another trial after seven days and consumed calories from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Although there was no difference in weight loss between two trials, researchers have found that fat-burning levels had increased during an almost 13-hour period, commonly at night, for those who ate their calories just within 6 hours. Furthermore, a 6-hour fast also makes a person's hunger levels more stable than a 12-hour fast.

"That might set you up more for binges or unhealthy eating than if you've already eaten all of your food for the day," Peterson hypothesized. She added that she could use further research to support this claim.

Aside from burning fat and losing weight, fasting has also been proven to help reduce insulin levels, initiate cellular repair, enhance the body's resistance from oxidative stress and reduces risks of cancer, Alzheimer's and heart diseases.