Identical twins who went on fasting vs non-fasting diets reveal how it impacted their biological age

Ross and Hugo Turner are identical twins, but for 12 weeks they treated their bodies like a real-time science experiment. One twin did time-restricted eating, the other did the reverse schedule, and then they checked what it did to their biological age.

On paper, the setup sounds simple: same genes, different fasting windows. In reality, it gets messy fast, because these brothers have already run multiple diet challenges and tracked changes before. This time, the fasting vs non-fasting test was the next reader-chosen challenge, and it came with a specific eating plan: Ross ate for 16 hours and fasted for eight, while Hugo fasted for 16 hours and only ate for eight.

After the GlycanAge results, the fasting twin’s timeline looked wildly different.

Main Story

A set of identical twins who went on separate diets, one fasting and one not, have revealed how it impacted their biological age after 12 weeks.

Ross and Hugo Turner are known for carrying out tests that show how separate diets impact their bodies.

Key Point 2

Arguably, one thing they're best known for is when they carried out a study where Hugo ate a vegan diet while Ross stuck to a diet that included meat, dairy and fish.

One key finding from the study was that Hugo's cholesterol levels dropped ‘off the scale' and he lost weight, meanwhile Ross put on both weight and muscle.

Key Point 3

Ross and Hugo have also been on separate carb and fat diets where one twin mainly ate carbs for 12 weeks, while the other twin had a high fat diet.

Last year, the Turner twins tasked UNILAD readers with choosing their next diet focused challenge, and it was decided that Hugo and Ross would try fasting vs eating a normal diet.

So when the UNILAD readers picked “fasting vs normal eating” for their next challenge, the twins basically handed us a head-to-head comparison with built-in expectations.

Key Point 4

The brothers, who document their experiments and challenges on their Instagram page 'The Turner Twins', have now carried out the test over a 12-week period and the results are in.

Then came the part that really matters, Ross doing the 16-hour eating window while Hugo flipped it into 16 hours of fasting, both measured at the start when Ross was 33 and Hugo was 27.

It’s a similar kind of fallout to the fraternity where police bodycam exposed hazing in their house.

Key Point 5

As part of Ross' diet, he ate for 16 hours a day and fasted for eight while sleeping. Hugo did the opposite and fasted for 16 hours a day and only ate for eight.

Both Ross and Hugo were 36 years old at the time of the age tests. While they're identical twins, their initial test results found that their biological ages differed: Ross' was 33 while Hugo was 27.

Key Point 6

But how did their biological ages change after their 12 week diet challenge?

After 12 weeks of eating for 16 hours a day and fasting for only eight, Ross' biological age dropped to 30. Meanwhile, three months of fasting caused Hugo's to drop to 25.

After 12 weeks, the numbers landed, Ross’ biological age fell to 30 while Hugo’s dropped to 25 on GlycanAge, which tracks inflammaging.

Key Point 7

They used GlycanAge to work their biological ages out. This test measures inflammaging (chronic, low-grade, systemic inflammation that increases with age).

"A lower biological age compared to chronological age may indicate a reduced risk of age-related diseases and a healthier aging trajectory," the twins' test results explained.

Key Point 8

"Conversely, a higher biological age may suggest accelerated aging and increased susceptibility to chronic conditions.

Key Point 9

In contrast, people who find that their biological ages are higher may have poor health, poor diet, poor stress management, and have a family history of chronic diseases.

The twins didn’t just change their schedules, they changed what their bodies were aging like.

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