Time-Restricted Eating: A Circadian Intervention for the Prevention and Management of Metabolic Diseases in Animal Models and Humans

Many fasting interventions of various durations, cadence, and magnitude of caloric restriction have demonstrated health benefits in both animal models and humans. All these interventions are focused on the duration of fasting and caloric restriction. Time-restricted feeding/eating (TRF/TRE) is unique in that it is based on circadian biology. TRF/TRE is a consistent daily eating window aligned to an individual’s circadian patterns of behavior (such as sleep/wake cycles) and does not require any form of caloric restriction. Typically, it includes an eating window of 6–11 h aligned to the active phase resulting in 13–18 h of fasting each day, mainly during the sleep/rest phase. A wide variety of health benefits have been observed in both animal models and human trials. Like any behavioral intervention, the study design, implementation, and population being assessed are keys to data interpretation and can explain the difference in outcomes between studies. In this chapter, we will discuss the origins of TRF/TRE, current findings and mechanisms, critical factors to consider, how TRE can be applied to shift work, and the future of the field.