The research team looked at the results of 22 previous studies involving nearly 2,000 adults to find out if short-term intermittent fasting (over a period up to 12 months) was better at helping adults lose weight than standard dietary advice, or no advice at all.
Intermittent fasting is a fairly new approach to losing weight, and has gained popularity in recent years. Different types include:
only eating during a set period each day
fasting on certain days of the week
alternating between days of eating normally and days of eating very little
Compared to giving people traditional advice on dieting, such as reducing calorie intake and eating more healthily, the review found intermittent fasting made little to no difference to people's weight loss or quality of life.
It also made little to no difference compared to those offered no advice or who were waiting for advice on weight loss, although the effect on quality of life was not clear.
Although the researchers say they are "moderately confident" on these findings, they are less confident about the results comparing standard dieting and intermittent fasting.
Most of the studies they looked at did not use the most robust methods and included small numbers of people, making it difficult to work out the true effects.
Luis Garegnani, lead review author from the Universidad Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, said he was concerned by the online hype around fasting.
"Intermittent fasting may be a reasonable option for some people, but the current evidence doesn't justify the enthusiasm we see on social media," he said.
But the researchers also agree that everyone is different and some people could benefit. "Doctors will need to take a case-by-case approach when advising an overweight adult on losing weight," said senior review author Eva Madrid.
The review, published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, external, says more research is needed to look at the impact of intermittent fasting on other aspects of people's health, such as the status of their type 2 diabetes and other underlying health conditions, and how satisfied it made them feel.
It also said there were many different types of intermittent fasting and more detail was needed on how they could impact men and women separately, in addition to those with different BMIs and from different countries.
The studies in this review took place in Europe, North America, China, Australia and South America.