Background Overweight and obesity among adults are a growing global public health threat and an essential risk factor for various noncommunicable diseases. Although intermittent fasting is a generally new dietary approach to weight management that has been increasingly practiced worldwide, the effectiveness of 2 days per week dry fasting remains unclear. Objective The Cardiometabolic and Anthropometric Outcomes of Intermittent Fasting study aims to determine the cardiometabolic, anthropometric, dietary intake, and quality of life changes among civil servants with overweight and obesity, following combined intermittent fasting and healthy plate (IFHP) and healthy plate (HP) and explore the participants’ experiences. Methods We designed a mixed methods quasi-experimental study to evaluate the effectiveness of the IFHP and HP methods among adults with overweight and obesity. A total of 177 participants were recruited for this study, of which 91 (51.4%) were allocated to the IFHP group and 86 (48.6%) to the HP group. The intervention comprised 2 phases: supervised (12 weeks) and unsupervised (12 weeks). Data collection was conducted at baseline, after the supervised phase (week 12), and after the unsupervised phase (week 24). Serum and whole blood samples were collected from each participant for analysis. Data on sociodemographic factors, quality of life, physical activity, and dietary intake were also obtained using questionnaires during data collection. Results Most of the participants were female (147/177, 83.1%) and Malay (141/177, 79.7%). The expected outcomes of this study are changes in body weight, body composition, quality of life, physical activity, dietary intake, and cardiometabolic parameters such as fasting blood glucose, 2-hour postprandial blood glucose, hemoglobin A1c, fasting insulin, and lipid profile. Conclusions The Cardiometabolic and Anthropometric Outcomes of Intermittent Fasting study is a mixed methods study to evaluate the effectiveness of combined IFHP and HP interventions on cardiometabolic and anthropometric parameters and explore participants’ experiences throughout the study. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05034653; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05034653 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) RR1-10.2196/33801

The consequences of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in adolescents go beyond infertility during reproductive age. Therefore, research on PCOS should be methodically designed to address gaps and enhance the diagnosis and clinical management of the condition. This scoping review aims to describe the characteristics of research on PCOS among adolescents, and summarise the available methods of diagnosing PCOS among adolescents in epidemiological research. This review followed the standard protocols by Arksey and O’Malley and adheres to the Preferred Reported Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR) 2018 statement checklist. We included studies of female adolescents aged 13 to 18 years old and published from January 2011 up to December 2023. 341 articles were reviewed. Majority of the studies were observational and primarily conducted in Western countries, indicating the paucity of research on PCOS in Asian adolescents. The main limitations of existing studies are small sample size and potential admission bias due to the non-community-based nature of research. Additionally, the use of adult definitions for PCOS diagnosis in adolescent studies is also debatable. This scoping review assembles and provides insights into the characteristics of current PCOS studies in adolescents, aiming to guide future research directions in the field of PCOS.

Adult obesity and overweight pose a substantial risk to global public health and are associated with various noncommunicable diseases. Although intermittent fasting (IF) is increasingly used as a relatively new dietary strategy for weight loss, the effectiveness of 2 days per week of dry fasting remains unknown. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a combined dry IF and healthy plate (IFHP) and healthy plate (HP) intervention in improving anthropometric outcomes and body composition. Methods: This nonrandomized controlled trial involved 177 adults who were overweight and obese. Among them, 91 (51.4%) were allocated to the IFHP group and 86 (48.6%) were allocated to the HP group. The overall study duration was 6 months (October 2020 to March 2021). The intervention was divided into 2 phases: supervised (3 months) and unsupervised (3 months). The data were collected at baseline, after the supervised phase (month 3), and after the unsupervised phase (month 6). Anthropometric (weight, height, waist circumference, and hip circumference) and body composition (body fat percentage, body fat mass, skeletal muscle mass, and visceral fat area) data were measured at all 3 data collection points. Sociodemographic data were obtained using a questionnaire at baseline. Results: Most participants were female (147/177, 83.1%) and Malay (141/177, 79.7%). After 3 months, there were significant reductions in weight (difference −1.68; P<.001), BMI (difference −0.62; P<.001), body fat percentage (difference −0.921; P<.001), body fat mass (difference −1.28; P<.001), and visceral fat area (difference −4.227; P=.008) in the IFHP group, whereas no significant changes were observed in the HP group. Compared to baseline, participants in the IFHP group showed a significant decrease in weight (difference −1.428; P=.003), BMI (difference −0.522; P=.005), body fat percentage (difference −1.591; P<.001), body fat mass (difference −1.501; P<.001), visceral fat area (difference −7.130; P<.001), waist circumference (difference −2.304; P=.001), and hip circumference (difference −1.908; P=.002) at month 6. During the unsupervised phase, waist (IFHP difference −3.206; P<.001, HP difference −2.675; P=.004) and hip (IFHP difference −2.443; P<.001; HP difference −2.896; P<.001) circumferences were significantly reduced in both groups (P<.01), whereas skeletal muscle mass (difference 0.208; P=.04) and visceral fat area (difference −2.903; P=.003) were significantly improved in the IFHP group only. No significant difference in the between-group comparison was detected throughout the intervention Conclusions: A combined IFHP intervention was effective in improving anthropometric outcomes and body composition in adults with overweight and obesity.