Abstract
Lengthening the daily eating period contributes to the onset of obesity and metabolic syndrome. Dietary approaches, including energy restriction and time-restricted feeding, are promising methods to combat metabolic disorders. This study explored the effect of early and late time-restricted feeding (TRF) on weight and adiposity, food consumption, glycemic control, clock gene expression, and liver metabolite composition in diurnal Nile grass rats (NGRs). Adult male and female Nile grass rats were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) access to a 60% high-fat (HF) diet ad-libitum (HF-AD), (2) time-restricted access to the HF diet for the first 6 h of the 12 h light/active phase (HF-AM) or (3) the second 6 h of the 12 h light/active phase (HF-PM). Animals remained on their respective protocols for six weeks. TRF reduced total energy consumption and weight gain, and early TRF (HF-AM) reduced fasting blood glucose, restored Per1 expression, and reduced liver lipid levels. Although sex-dependent differences were observed for fat storage and lipid composition, TRF improved metabolic parameters in both male and female NGRs. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that early TRF protocol benefits weight management, improves lipid and glycemic control, and restores clock gene expression in NGRs.
Highlights
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of interrelated conditions that include hypertension, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance, and is associated with an increased risk of cardiometabolic disease
The body mass of the HF-AM group remained significantly different from the HF-AD group from weeks 1 to 6 (p = 0.02), while the HF-PM group was only significantly different until week 2 (Figure 1A, p = 0.03), despite no difference in food consumption between the HF-AM and HF-PM groups for the duration of the study (Figure 1B, p > 0.5)
Time-restricted feeding (TRF) is a well-established approach in nocturnal rodent models to prevent obesity and improve metabolic processes [31]; little information is available on diet-induced obesity and time-restricted feeding to prevent obesity-related metabolic dysfunction in diurnal animal models
Summary
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of interrelated conditions that include hypertension, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance, and is associated with an increased risk of cardiometabolic disease. Erratic eating behavior, such as eating multiple meals/snacks over a prolonged period each day, are commonly observed for both obesity and MetS [2,3] This extended consumption window can result in misalignment between the rhythm of daily food intake and the circadian timing system, leading to disruption of metabolic homeostasis [4]. TRF limits the duration of food availability over 24-h with no planned adjustment in caloric intake or food restriction [6] This feeding protocol allows ad libitum energy intake of a person’s habitual diet within a set window of time (e.g., 3–4 h, 7–9 h, or 10–12 h), which results in an extended fasting period each day [7]. This restriction of food availability results in a reorganization of physiology and behavior directed by food-entrainable oscillators associated with the circadian clock [8]
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