Time-Restricted Eating: Better to Restrict Earlier or Later in the Feeding Window?

Chinese researchers reviewed the literature on time-restricted eating and metabolic effects on humans. I’m not paying $31.50 USD for the full text article, but here’s the abstract:

Time-restricted feeding (TRF), a feasible form of intermittent fasting, has been proven to benefit metabolic health in animal models and humans. TRF restricts the daily feeding window to 3 to 12 h for eating ad libitum, with fasting for the rest of the day. To our knowledge, specific guidance on the appropriate time period for eating during TRF has not yet been promoted. Therefore, the aim of the present review was to summarize the current literature on the effects of TRF with different eating windows in humans and compare their effects on metabolic health–related markers. Early TRF (which restricts food intake during the early period of the day) and delayed TRF (which restricts food intake during the later period of the day) studies have shown that both TRF regimens improve metabolic health in terms of reducing energy intake, decreasing body weight, improving insulin sensitivity, reducing blood pressure, and reducing oxidative stress. Differences between the consequences of early and delayed TRF were found, including differences in changes in blood lipid factors. These preliminary findings may help to provide guidance for choosing suitable eating windows during TRF. Future studies with rigorous designs and direct comparisons between the effects of TRF regimens with different eating windows on metabolic health markers are still needed.


Steve Parker, M.D.

One response to “Time-Restricted Eating: Better to Restrict Earlier or Later in the Feeding Window?

  1. Ugh, it’s a cliffhanger unless any of your readers care to pony up the $$$.