For Weight Loss, Does It Matter What Time of Day You Eat?

Time-restricted eating (i.e., confining calorie intake to a limited period of each day) leads to weight loss in animals, possibly because calories are consumed only during metabolically active periods. Human studies have shown weight loss benefits with time-restricted eating (e.g., NEJM JW Gen Med Oct 1 2022 and JAMA Intern Med 2022 182:953) but have not consistently controlled for total calorie intake.

Investigators addressed this issue with a randomized, controlled trial in which 41 adults (mean age, 59) with obesity (mean weight, 99 kg) and prediabetes or diet-controlled diabetes received isocaloric diets with equivalent micro- and macronutrient composition; calorie amounts were based on metabolic needs and activity levels. Food was prepa…