by - Time-restricted eating (TRE) is a type of fasting that involves eating within a certain time window.
- Researchers recently found that time-restricted eating (TRE), combined with standard nutritional counseling, can help improve glucose control and weight loss in adults with metabolic syndrome.
- Compared to people who followed a standard dietary guideline alone, people who were engaged in TRE fat mass and hemoglobin A1C decreased more (HbA1c) levels.
108 participants were involved in the randomized controlled trial and tracked their eating habits through the myCircadianClock (mCC) app.
The results showed that the TRE group had greater reductions in fat mass and improvements in glucose control compared to those who followed standard dietary guidance alone.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of personalized TRE as a lifestyle intervention, in addition to standard nutritional counseling.
Results indicated that TRE, combined with standard nutritional counseling, resulted in modest improvements in glucose control and reductions in weight and fat mass compared with standard nutritional counseling alone.
Time-restricted eating (TRE), often seen during intermittent fasting, is becoming increasingly popular as a method of weight management. The most common approach is to eat within an 8- to 12-hour window each day, and fast outside of that period, allowing only water and calorie-free drinks.
Other potential benefits include improved cognitive function, anti-aging and anti-cancer effects, and improved insulin sensitivity.
The participants were randomly divided into two groups; the first group received advice on a healthy lifestyle and nutrition, such as following the Mediterranean diet. They were instructed to maintain their normal eating patterns and any prescribed medications.
The second group received the same dietary guidance but were also instructed to follow a personalized eating window of 8 to 10 hours.
Researchers tracked the intervention remotely over a period of three months. During this time, participants used the myCircadianClock (mCC) app to log daily meal times.
The main focus of the study was changes in fasting blood glucose levels and HbA1c.
HbA1c is a blood test that shows your average blood sugar levels over the past 2-3 months to help monitor or diagnose diabetes.
The results showed that compared to the group that only received standard nutritional guidance, the TRE group lost more weight, with a greater percentage of the weight loss coming from fat.
This suggests that TRE may reduce the risk of muscle loss associated with weight loss.
Although the changes were modest, the TRE group also saw greater improvements in blood sugar control and hemoglobin A1c levels.
These data suggest that TRE is an effective and practical lifestyle intervention with positive effects on glycemic control and cardiometabolic health.
First author Emily NC Manoogian, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, explained the key findings to Medical News Today.
“Metabolic syndrome is a combination of cardiovascular risk factors and there is no single treatment to cure it. In adults with metabolic syndrome, we found that TRE was safe, even when combined with common medications such as Metformin and Statins, and provided benefits for multiple aspects of this complex syndrome including HbA1c (blood sugar), cholesterol LDL, and body composition (loss. fat and maintaining lean mass).
— Emily NC Manoogian, PhD
“This is the same amount that was achieved in
“In particular, about 70% of the participants were already on medication to improve their cholesterol, so we saw an additive effect.”
Mir B Ali, MD, a board-certified bariatric surgeon and medical director of the Memorial Care Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, said he was not involved in the study. MNT that the research is “consistent with other studies that have shown the benefits of intermittent fasting/time-restricted eating”.
“As people become more aware of time-restricted eating, more people can use this approach to help lose weight. Of course, the most important thing in weight loss is choosing the right foods, but by fasting for a period of time, it leads the body towards burning fat. Usually there is a window of 8-16 hours, where you are not eating calories, but calorie free fluid is fine. For most people, part of this period is easier to do at night because you will be sleeping for a good portion of the time.”
— Mir B Ali, MD
Manoogian also explained that “this research shows that 8-10 hours of TRE is an effective lifestyle intervention that can be combined with medication to improve various aspects of cardio-metabolic health, particularly glucose, cholesterol and weight regulation.”
“Further studies, longer in duration, with more participants, and conducted at multiple sites, need to be done to better understand the health impacts of TRE,” Manoogian pointed out.
Although more research is needed, the study adds to the growing body of research on TRE and metabolic syndrome.
In addition, the innovative use of the myCircadianClock (mCC) app opens the door for future studies to be conducted remotely and on a larger scale.
