Time-Restricted Eating: Effects on Body Weight and Cardiometabolic Health

Time-restricted eating (TRE) is a form of intermittent fasting that involves eating within a consistent ≤10-hour daily window. More than 100 clinical trials have been conducted in the past decade. In this detailed and thorough review, we review the effects of TRE on body weight and cardiometabolic health. The overwhelming majority of studies report that a wide range of TRE windows are effective for losing weight. TRE is also effective for improving glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes and may also improve blood pressure in patients with hypertension. In non-diabetic adults with obesity or overweight, earlier eating windows appear to improve glycemic control and blood pressure, whereas later windows do not. Overall, the weight of evidence suggests TRE is feasible, reduces body weight, and can improve glycemic control, blood pressure, and oxidative stress in adults with cardiometabolic disease and/or when the eating window is earlier in the day. More research is needed on appetite-related hormones, lipid metabolism, and heart rate. TRE may therefore be an effective treatment for obesity, diabetes, prediabetes, metabolic syndrome, and hypertension.