A new study has found eating meals at a certain time of day can stop people from putting on weight.
Researchers found that eating only in the first eight hours of getting out of bed may counter weight gain, improve blood sugar fluctuations, and reduce the time that blood sugar is above normal levels, preventing diabetes.
Study lead author Dr Joanne Bruno, an endocrinologist at New York University, said: “Eating the majority of one’s calories earlier in the day reduces the time that the blood sugar is elevated, thereby improving metabolic health.
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"Our research shows that just one week of following this diet strategy reduces fluctuations in blood sugar levels and reduces the time that the blood sugar is elevated above normal levels. This suggests early time-restricted feeding may be a helpful strategy for those with prediabetes or obesity to keep their blood sugars in a normal range and prevent them from progressing to type 2 diabetes.”
The research team evaluated early time-restricted feeding (eTRF), which involves mostly eating in the first eight hours of the day.
Researchers compared eating 80% of calories before 1pm to a more usual feeding pattern - 50% of calories consumed after 4pm - among 10 participants with prediabetes and obesity. The patients were on eTRF or usual feeding patterns for the first seven days and were changed over to the alternative arm for the next seven days.
Food was provided to meet the patients’ caloric needs for weight maintenance to determine the weight-independent effects of the strategy. Participants wore continuous glucose monitors throughout the study.
Study senior author Doctor Jose Aleman, of NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said: “We decreased the time these individuals were having high blood sugar levels with just one week of eTRF feeding.
“The findings show that eating a majority of one’s calories earlier in the day reduces the time that the blood sugar is elevated, thereby improving metabolic health.”
The team discovered the participants’ weights were stable throughout the study.
Early time-restricted feeding led to a decreased mean amplitude of glycaemic excursion and decreased time above range compared to the usual eating pattern group. The time in range was similar between the eTRF and usual feeding pattern group.
Dr Bruno added: “Based on this data, eTRF may be a helpful dietary strategy for diabetes prevention. Further studies are needed to understand the true overall benefit of these intervention strategies.”
The findings were presented at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Chicago.
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