Finding Consensus in Fasting Terminology

Defining Fasting: Finding Common Ground Using the Delphi Method

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT05668156

Acronym

Enrollment

Registered

2022-12-29

Start date

2022-02-01

Completion date

2023-08-01

Last updated

2023-12-29

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Consensus Development

Keywords

consensus, fasting, fasting terminology, therapeutic fasting, Delphi, Delphi method, decision-making, intermittent fasting, periodic fasting, prolonged fasting, religious fasting, intermittent dry fasting, caloric restriction, diet, nutrition

Brief summary

A consensus-based decision making process on fasting terminology will be conducted using the Delphi technique. To this aim, experts around the world are invited.

Detailed description

The consensus-based decision making process on fasting terminology will include a maximum of five rounds of questionnaires that experts are invited to complete online using a pseudonym. Prof. Dr. med. Michalsen's department has prepared rough definitions of key terms for the questionnaire to be evaluated by the experts. These terms should serve as a starting point for the discussion. After each questionnaire round the experts' comments are reviewed by the project team and a new questionnaire with the suggested modifications from the previous round will be sent to the experts. If consensus can't be reached by round three, a live-online-discussion will be held to facilitate the further proceedings. The results are to be published in a peer-reviewed journal; individual statements will not be shared in the publication.

Interventions

OTHERConsensus Decision Making

Consensus-based decision-making process, where experts are asked to comment definitions of terms used for fasting interventions

Study design

Observational model

OTHER

Time perspective

OTHER

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* clinicians or scientists with at least 5 peer-reviewed publications on fasting or * at least one peer-reviewed publication and 5 years of clinical experience with fasting

Exclusion criteria

\- not more than 2 experts from one institution are allowed to participate

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Definitions of fasting regimens	repetition of the survey until consensus is reached, max. 12 months	Definitions of fasting regimen (qualitative research) with max. five survey rounds and potentially one online discussion panel

Countries

Germany

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026