Abstract
Background: Time-restricted eating is a promising dietary strategy for weight loss, glucose and lipid metabolism improvements, and overall well-being. However, human studies demonstrated contradictory results for the restriction of food intake to the beginning (early TRE, eTRE) or to the end of the day (late TRE, lTRE) suggesting that more carefully controlled studies are needed.Objective: The aim of the ChronoFast trial study is to determine whether eTRE or lTRE is a better dietary approach to improve cardiometabolic health upon minimized calorie deficits and nearly stable body weight.Methods: Here, we present the study protocol of the randomized cross-over ChronoFast clinical trial comparing effects of 2 week eTRE (8:00 to 16:00 h) and lTRE (13:00 to 21:00 h) on insulin sensitivity and other glycemic traits, blood lipids, inflammation, and sleep quality in 30 women with overweight or obesity and increased risk of type 2 diabetes. To ensure timely compliance and unchanged dietary composition, and to minimize possible calorie deficits, real-time monitoring of dietary intake and body weight using a smartphone application, and extensive nutritional counseling are performed. Continuous glucose monitoring, oral glucose tolerance test, 24 h activity tracking, questionnaires, and gene expression analysis in adipose tissue and blood monocytes will be used for assessment of study outcomes.Discussion: The trial will determine whether eTRE or lTRE is more effective to improve cardiometabolic health, elucidate underlying mechanisms, and contribute to the development of recommendations for medical practice and the wider population.Clinical Trial Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier [NCT04351672]
Highlights
Obesity and associated diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, are a rapidly expanding problem of our society and a substantial burden on healthcare systems
Skeletal muscle fatty acid oxidation, and diet-induced thermogenesis are higher in the morning than in the evening, at least in healthy humans [7, 32]. These findings suggest that eating earlier in the daytime might be more optimal for food consumption, whereas delayed eating rather leads to metabolic dysfunction [33]
Further objective is to elucidate molecular mechanisms underlying metabolic changes in adipose tissue and blood monocytes in women with overweight and obesity
Summary
Obesity and associated diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, are a rapidly expanding problem of our society and a substantial burden on healthcare systems. Latest research revealed that the quality and quantity of food, and the daytime and duration of food consumption are important factors for metabolic regulation [3,4,5]. This phenomenon is based on the tight interaction of endogenous circadian clock and metabolism. Metabolic disturbances induced by nutrient imbalance or excess, such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome, are associated with blunted or changed circadian rhythms [10, 22,23,24]. Human studies demonstrated contradictory results for the restriction of food intake to the beginning (early TRE, eTRE) or to the end of the day (late TRE, lTRE) suggesting that more carefully controlled studies are needed
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