Time-restricted eating no more beneficial than caloric restriction in obese patients, study says
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Time-restricted eating limited to 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. did not lead to a greater reduction in body weight, body fat or metabolic risk factors compared to a daily caloric restriction, according to a study published in New England Journal of Medicine this week.
The researchers at Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China randomly assigned 139 obese patients to two groups: one group who participated in a time-restricted eating regimen where they ate only between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. along with restricting their daily caloric intake and another group of participants who only engaged in daily caloric restriction without a time-restricting regimen.
The male participants were instructed to restrict their daily caloric intake to only 1500 -1800 calories while women followed a caloric restriction of 1200 to 1500 calories every day.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The primary outcome of the study was the difference in body weight between the two groups from baseline and secondary outcomes were changes in waist circumference, body-mass index, amount of body fat, and measures of metabolic risk factors.
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The participants were encouraged to weigh foods to ensure accurate reporting on calories, were required to keep a food diary and to photograph the food that they ate during the first six months of the study, and recorded food pictures and meals three times a week during the last six months.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}118 out of 139 participants completed the study with researchers noting, "Changes in weight were not significantly different in the two groups at the 12-month assessment."
"In addition, time-restricted eating and daily calorie restriction produced similar effects with respect to reductions in body fat, visceral fat, blood pressure, glucose levels, and lipid levels over the 12-month intervention period," the researchers said.
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The authors added even though caloric intake restriction explained most of the beneficial effects associated with the time-restricted–eating, their findings suggested that time-restricted eating could be an alternative to restricting calories for weight management.
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"We speculate that these data support the importance of caloric intake restriction when adhering to a regimen of time-restricted eating," the study noted.
The authors cautioned their study cannot be generalized to diabetic patients, to those with heart disease, to different periods of time-restricted eating while also noting their study was limited because physical activity was not controlled since total energy expenditure was not measured.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Almost every type of diet out there works for some people," said Dr. Christopher Gardner, director of nutrition studies at the Stanford Prevention Research Center.
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"But the take-home supported by this new research is that when subjected to a properly designed and conducted study — scientific investigation — it is not any more helpful than simply reducing daily calorie intake for weight loss and health factors."