Time-Restricted Eating Improves Glycemic Regulation in Metabolic Syndrome

MONDAY, Sept. 30, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Time-restricted eating (TRE), limiting dietary intake to eight to 10 hours without mandating calorie restriction, combined with standard-of-care (SOC) nutritional counseling improves glycemic regulation among adults with metabolic syndrome (MetS), according to a study published online Oct. 1 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Emily N.C. Manoogian, Ph.D., from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, and colleagues examined the effect of TRE as a lifestyle intervention combined with current SOC treatments on cardiometabolic health in adults with MetS with elevated fasting glucose or hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). Participants were randomly assigned to SOC nutritional counseling alone (SOC group) or combined with a personalized eight- to 10-hour TRE intervention (greater than or equal to a four-hour reduction in eating window) for three months. The myCircadianClock smartphone application was used to track the timing of dietary intake in real time.

The intervention was completed by 108 participants (89 percent of those randomly assigned). The researchers found that TRE improved HbA1c by −0.10 percent compared with SOC. With age, there was adjustment in statistical outcomes. No major adverse events occurred.

“TRE is an effective lifestyle strategy that can be used concomitantly with the current SOC pharmacotherapies and nutritional counseling to further improve glycemic regulation and potentially multiple components of cardiometabolic health in patients with MetS,” the authors write.

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