International researchers have found that restricting food intake between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. can help you lose weight and lower your blood pressure.
A randomized clinical trial in 90 obese adults in the United States found that people who ate only during the limited period lost about 5 pounds more than those who ate 12 hours or more.
They also lowered blood pressure over a 14 week period.
“The eTRE (time-restricted eating) intervention may be an effective treatment for both obesity and hypertension,” the authors said.
It also improves mood by reducing fatigue and feelings of depression and depression and increasing activity, and those who can stick to eTRE lose more body fat and core fat.
“However, eTRE did not affect most myocardial fasting risk factors in the primary intent-to-treat analysis. »
The trial took place between August 2018 and April 2020.
Participants were adults between the ages of 25 and 75 who were obese and were receiving weight loss treatment through the University of Alabama Weight Loss Medicine Clinic at Birmingham Hospital.
“Our data suggest that an eTRE program is feasible, with participants sticking to an average of six days per week and most participants sticking to at least five days per week,” the authors said.
“Despite the challenges of navigating evening social activities and work schedules, adherence to eTRE was similar to other TRE interventions…and satisfaction was similar between groups.
Additionally, we found the eTRE regimen to be acceptable to many patients. About 41% of supplements in the eTRE+ER group planned to continue their eTRE practice after the study ended. ”
However, the authors said larger trials are needed to confirm whether losing fat specifically is better.
“Future clinical trials will need to enroll much larger samples – up to around 300 participants – to determine whether[le jeûne intermittent]affects body composition and cardiovascular health,” the authors said.
“Future studies should determine whether the timing and length of the meal period influence these outcomes, as well as determine who can adhere to eTRE versus who cannot benefit from other meal planning interventions.”
“Further testing needs to be done on the eTRE intervention as a low-cost, easy-to-implement approach to improving health and treating disease. »
The authors also note that there are some limitations to their study.
“Our study has some limitations, including its modest duration, recruiting mostly women, and not reaching the planned sample size, in part due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” they said.
“Furthermore, we measured physical activity by self-report, not accelerometer, which may limit our ability to detect differences in physical activity between groups.
“Finally, we measured cardiac disease endpoints only in the fasting state. Future research should investigate postprandial or 24-hour glycemic parameters. »