Lunch Hour Lecture: Should I fast for my health and wellbeing?

Fasting, the practice of partially or completely restricting food intake has been practiced historically for a range of reasons. Most recently, intermittent fasting and the '5:2' diet have been recommended, sometimes uncritically, for the purposes of weight loss, improving health and even to increase lifespan. However, the extreme restriction seen in eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa is seen as unhealthy and dangerous. In this lecture I will review what we know so far about the impact of mild, moderate and extreme fasting on health, psychological wellbeing and brain function and suggest some research priorities in terms of unanswered questions. Speaker: Lucy Serpell, Associate Professor in the Psychology of Eating Disorders at UCL Date: Tuesday 1 October 2019 UCL's popular public Lunch Hour Lecture series has been running at UCL since 1942, and showcases the exceptional research work being undertaken across UCL. Lectures are free and open to all.