Trial results for a study investigating the effect of time-restricted eating on obesity were posted on ClinicalTrials.gov on 2025-10-14, indicating that time-restricted eating combined with standard care led to a mean body weight reduction of -4.59 Kg compared to -1.68 Kg with standard care alone, with a p-value of 0.001.
Background
Obesity, defined in this study as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or greater, is a significant public health concern. Current management often includes behavioral nutritional counseling as a standard of care. Time-restricted eating (TRE), an eating pattern that limits food intake to a specific window of hours each day, is an emerging strategy being investigated for its potential to improve health outcomes in obese individuals.
Trial design
This study, designated as Phase NA, enrolled 61 participants with Obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) who habitually ate for more than 14 hours daily. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups for 12 weeks: a control group receiving behavioral nutritional counseling (standard of care), or an intervention group receiving behavioral nutrition counseling with the addition of adopting a 10-hour eating window (time-restricted eating, TRE).
Key results
The trial reported the following key measurements after 12 weeks:
- Effects of TRE on Body Weight:
- For the Standard of Care (SOC) group, the mean change in body weight was -1.68 Kg.
- For the TRE + SOC group, the mean change in body weight was -4.59 Kg.
- Effects of TRE on Body Composition:
- For the Standard of Care (SOC) group, the mean change in percentage of body fat was -0.8 percentage of body fat.
- For the TRE + SOC group, the mean change in percentage of body fat was -1.3 percentage of body fat.
A t-test, 2 sided analysis yielded a p-value of 0.001.
What this means
The results suggest that incorporating time-restricted eating into a standard behavioral nutritional counseling regimen may lead to greater reductions in body weight and body fat percentage for obese adults. The observed mean difference in weight loss between the TRE + SOC group and the SOC group, supported by a statistically significant p-value of 0.001, indicates a potential benefit of TRE as an adjunct to conventional obesity management strategies. These findings could inform future dietary recommendations for individuals seeking to manage obesity.
Source
The information regarding these trial results was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, a public database of clinical studies. The results for the study NCT04916730, titled "Effect of Time-restricted Eating on Catecholamine-sensitivity of Adipose Tissue in Obese Adults", were posted on 2025-10-14 on clinicaltrials.gov.