Effects of four-hour and six-hour time-restricted feeding on weight and cardiometabolic health: a randomized controlled trial in adults with obesity
Abstract
Summary Time-restricted feeding (TRF) regimens have grown in popularity; however, very few studies have examined their weight loss efficacy. We conducted the first human trial (Clinicaltrials.gov - NCT03867773) to compare the effects of two popular forms of TRF (4-h and 6-h) on body weight and cardiometabolic risk factors. Adults with obesity were randomized to 4-h TRF (eating only between 3 to 7 pm), 6-h TRF (eating only between 1 to 7 pm) or a control group (no meal timing restrictions). After 8 weeks, 4-h and 6-h TRF produced comparable reductions in body weight (∼3%), insulin resistance and oxidative stress, versus controls. Energy intake was reduced by ∼550 kcal/d in both TRF groups, without calorie counting. These findings suggest that 4-h and 6-h TRF induce mild reductions in body weight over 8 weeks, and show promise as interventions for weight loss. These diets may also improve some aspects of cardiometabolic health.
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Challenges and opportunities with drug repurposing: finding strategies to find alternative uses of therapeutics
- Challenges in Chagas Disease Drug Development
- T Cell Specificity: A Great Challenge in Chagas Disease
- Benznidazole treatment leads to DNA damage in Trypanosoma cruzi and the persistence of rare widely dispersed non-replicative amastigotes in mice
- Rapid Molecular Detection of Terbinafine-resistant Dermatophytes
- Identifying novel drugs with new modes of action for neglected tropical fungal skin diseases (fungal skinNTDs) using an Open Source Drug discovery approach
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.