Calorie Restriction with or without Time-Restricted Eating in Weight Loss.

Abstract (PubMed)

BACKGROUND: The long-term efficacy and safety of time-restricted eating for weight loss are not clear. METHODS: We 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 alone. For 12 months, all the participants were instructed to follow a calorie-restricted diet (1500-1800 kcal/day for men, 1200-1500 kcal/day for women). The primary outcome was the difference between the two groups in the change from baseline in body weight. RESULTS: Of the 139 participants who underwent randomization, 118 (84.9%) completed the 12-month follow-up visit. The mean weight loss at 12 months was -8.0 kg (95% CI -9.6 to -6.4) in the time-restriction group and -6.3 kg (95% CI -7.8 to -4.7) in the daily-calorie-restriction group. Changes in weight were not significantly different (net difference -1.8 kg; 95% CI -4.0 to 0.4; P=0.11). CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with obesity, time-restricted eating was not more beneficial than daily calorie restriction. (Funded by the National Key Research and Development Project [No. 2018YFA0800404] and others; ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03745612.).