Intermittent Fasting BBC Documentary 2012 by Dr. Michael Moseley

Dr. Michael Moseley discovered the potential benefits of fasting back 2012 when he was a BBC science journalist and executive producer.  Dr. Moseley studied to be a psychiatrist at the Royal Free Hospital Medical School in London, but his first job was as a banker.  He changed direction professionally again in 1985 and joined a BBC trainee program as an assistant producer.  He is married to a physician and is a father of four.

In 2012, Moseley was asked to research fasting for a BBC documentary, including trying the idea himself.  He was in his fifties.  Researchers he met with included Prof. Luigi Fontana of Washington University School of Medicine, Dr. Krista Varady of the Univ. of Illinois, and Prof. Mark Matteson.    He was not particularly looking forward to the idea of fasting for 3 days and 4 nights.  However, the changes were significant enough (at 33 minute mark in the BBC documentary) that after going home he experimented with the fasting for five weeks based on the 5-2 approach.  The results were similar to the 4-day fast (52 min mark).  His first book about the "Fast Diet" came out in 2013 and became a NY Times best seller; it was updated in 2015.

The BBC documentary is an hour and well worth watching.  For a shorter introduction, check out report below by an Australian journalist who traveled to meet Moseley in 2014.

5 2 Diet, 16 min - 2014

https://youtu.be/VWtaLLjJzn4

Eat, Fast & Live Longer BBC Documentary, 1 hr, created 2012, posted 2015

https://youtu.be/Ihhj_VSKiTs