Time-Restricted Eating Helps to Improve Diabetes Outcomes

FRIDAY, Sept. 13, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Time-restricted eating (TRE) may improve diabetes outcomes, independent of energy intake, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, held from Sept. 9 to 13 in Madrid.

K.A. Bowden Davies, from Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom, and colleagues examined the effects of TRE in a eucaloric manner, comparing early (ETRE; 8:00-16:00 hours) versus late (LTRE; 12:00-20:00 hours) conditions on habitual (free)-living glycemic control in 15 overweight sedentary adults. In the crossover study, each phase lasted three days.

The researchers found that compared with habitual eating (>14 hours/day), TRE (eight hours/day) significantly increased time spent in euglycemia by 3.3 percent (P < 0.001) and reduced mean absolute glucose by 0.6 mmol/L (P = 0.003), coefficient of variation by 2.6 percent (P < 0.001), and mean amplitude of glucose excursions by 0.4 mmol/L (P = 0.020). There was no significant effect for ETRE versus LTRE (P > 0.05). Habitual calorie intake and macronutrient composition were similar to TRE (P > 0.05).

“Our findings, which can be attributed to the 16-hour fasting window rather than the time of eating or changes in energy intake, highlight the benefit of TRE in only three days,” the authors write.

Abstract

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