An appreciation of the physiology of fasting is essential to the understanding of therapeutic dietary interventions and the effect of food deprivation in various diseases. The practice of prolonged fasting for political or religious purposes is increasing, and a physician is likely to encounter such circumstances. Early in fasting weight loss is rapid, averaging 0.9 kg per day during the first… Read More

The effects of fasting or a 600-cal diet on biliary lipid composition were studied in 20 persons with overweight. With complete fasting for 20 days and a mean weight loss of 650 g/day, biliary cholesterol fell significantly from 10.1 to 6.9 mol% and the 'lithogenic index' from 1.0 to 0.7. Following fasting, the index, in 10 of the 11 patients, was in the normal range… Read More

Total fasting was compared with VLCD (1.28 MJ, 300 kcal/day; 56 g protein, 12 g CHO) in 14 euthyroid obese patients, selected as matched pairs, over a period of 28 days. The weight loss was significantly greater during fasting than during the VLCD (16.5 kg vs. 12.7 kg). The basal metabolic rate of (BMR) showed a significant decrease (25 per cent) during total fasting, but was unchanged with… Read More

A multiple approach programme used in 20 000 patients (3300 have been hospitalized at some time or other) for 19 years is described. It is based on operative definitions handled by an interdisciplinary team working within a therapeutic community. A diagnostic-prognostic profile is used, and so is the ambulatory treatment including an individual/group approach, and/or hospitalization with total… Read More

Daily plasma citrate rhythms were followed during a 24-h day in seven subjects fed a common diet and from 0800 to 2100 hours in : (1) ten subjects fed a citrate-poor diet; (2) eight subjects who continued overnight fasting (short-term fasting) and (3) nine obese patients during the 7th day of a total fasting (long-term fasting). During feeding plasma citrate… Read More

To delineate the hormonal mechanism of dietary-induced changes in sodium balance, the role of insulin and glucagon in natriuresis of fast was evaluated in obese subjects submitted to a total starvation and given either glucagon or somatostatin infusion on day 4 of fast. While large amounts of glucagon (1 mg over 6 h) stimulated concomitantly ketonaemia, ketonuria and renal sodium losses, the… Read More

To assess the influence of fasting on the lipolytic effect of catecholamines in vivo noradrenaline (NA) was infused to 15 obese subjects before and after 7 days of fasting. The infusion of 7.5 microgram/min NA for 10 min was associated with a greater lipolytic response during than before fasting, as judged from changes in the plasma FFA and glycerol levels. The hemodynamic effects of NA were… Read More

Isotonic glucose is often the sole nutrient provided to hospitalized patients with varying degrees of protein calorie malnutrition. To study the effects of such diets uncomplicated by illness, normal human subjects were fasted (6 to 14 days) before receiving an infusion of 5% dextrose (5 to 7 days). Norepinephrine excretion rose steadily-to… Read More

The effect of small amounts of oral glucose on hepatic function during starvation was studied. A group of 20, nondiabetic, obese, male patients were entered into the protocol. Ten were placed on absolute caloric starvation and the other ten were placed on a starvation diet modified by the daily addition of 8 or 16 g of oral glucose. Five patients in the starved group crossed over to the… Read More