Time-Restricted Eating No Better Than Cutting Calories for Obesity

WEDNESDAY, April 20, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Time-restricted eating is not more beneficial than daily calorie restriction for reducing body weight, body fat, or metabolic risk factors among persons with obesity, according to a study published in the April 21 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Deying Liu, M.D., from the Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China, and colleagues randomly assigned 139 patients with obesity to time-restricted eating (eating only between 8.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m.) with calorie restriction or daily calorie restriction only. All participants were instructed to follow a calorie-restricted diet (1,500 to 1,800 kcal/day for men and 1,200 to 1,500 kcal/day for women) for 12 months. Overall, 118 participants completed the 12-month follow-up visits.

The researchers found that at 12 months, the mean weight loss from baseline was −8.0 and −6.3 kg in the time-restriction group and daily calorie-restriction group, respectively. There was no significant difference noted between the groups in terms of change in weight at the 12-month assessment (net difference, −1.8 kg; 95 percent confidence interval, −4.0 to 0.4; P = 0.11). Consistent results were seen for analyses of waist circumference, body mass index, body fat, body lean mass, blood pressure, and metabolic risk factors. No substantial differences were seen between the groups in the numbers of adverse events.

"The two weight-loss regimens that we evaluated had similar success in patients with obesity, regardless of whether they reduced their calorie consumption through time-restricted eating or through calorie restriction alone," the authors write.

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