Is Time-Restricted Eating a Viable Alternative to Traditional Calorie Restriction?
Overview
- What did they test? In this study, researchers tested the effect of following either a time-restricted eating pattern or a calorie-restricted diet to a normal dietary (ND) pattern for 12 weeks on body composition and metabolic health in obese adults. The participants randomized to time-restricted eating (TRE) ate all of their food in an 8-hour window, the calorie restriction (CR) participants maintained a 15% calorie reduction from baseline energy needs, and the ND followed their regular diet with no changes.
- What did they find? There was a small reduction in weight in the TRE group and the CR group, but these values were not statistically significant. The CR group also lost slightly more weight than the TRE group, but this was also not statistically significant. Measures of metabolic health and glycemic control were also not different between groups. Researchers did find that shortening the eating window was associated with lower calorie intake and more weight loss regardless of group assignment.
- What does it mean for you? The results of this study show that restricting the eating window to 8 hours and a 15% targeted reduction in calorie intake both produced modest reductions in calorie intake and weight loss over 12 weeks. Both calorie restriction and time-restricted eating are viable approaches to reduce energy intake and achieve modest weight loss.
What’s the problem?
Nearly half of all adults in the US are obese, which contributes to over 260 billion in medical costs in this country. Current approaches to weight loss have not been successful in addressing this issue 1. There is also a growing body of research supporting the use of time-restricted eating (TRE) as an alternative approach to weight loss that may be easier to follow than traditional calorie restriction (CR) methods for some people 2. Studies have shown similar weight loss with TRE when compared with CR. However, it is currently unclear if TRE produces the same improvements in metabolic health as CR.
Purpose
The impact of TRE when compared to CR on metabolic health is not well studied. Therefore, this study aimed to compare body composition and metabolic health effects of adhering to an 8-hour restricted eating window to a 15% energy deficit on body composition and markers of metabolic health.
Hypothesis
The authors hypothesized that 12 weeks of TRE would be a viable alternative to CR for improving body composition and markers of metabolic health.
