• Shuhao Lin, Sofia Cienfuegos, Mark Ezpeleta, Kelsey Gabel, Vasiliki Pavlou, Andrea Mulas, Kaitie Chakos, Mara McStay, Jackie Wu, Lisa Tussing-Humphreys, Shaina J Alexandria, Julienne Sanchez, Terry Unterman, and Krista A Varady.
• Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (S.L., S.C., M.E., K.G., V.P., A.M., K.C., M.M., J.W., K.A.V.).
• Ann. Intern. Med. 2023 Jul 1; 176 (7): 885895885-895.

BackgroundTime-restricted eating (TRE), without calorie counting, has become a popular weight loss strategy, yet long-term randomized trials evaluating its efficacy are limited.ObjectiveTo determine whether TRE is more effective for weight control and cardiometabolic risk reduction compared with calorie restriction (CR) or control.Design12-month randomized controlled trial. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04692532).SettingUniversity of Illinois Chicago from January 2021 to September 2022.Participants90 adults with obesity.Intervention8-hour TRE (eating between noon and 8:00 p.m. only, without calorie counting), CR (25% energy restriction daily), or control (eating over a period of 10 or more hours per day). Participants were not blinded.MeasurementsChange in body weight, metabolic markers, and energy intake by month 12.ResultsSeventy-seven persons completed the study. Mean age was 40 years (SD, 11), 33% were Black, and 46% were Hispanic. Mean reduction in energy intake was -425 kcal/d (SD, 531) for TRE and -405 kcal/d (SD, 712) for CR. Compared with the control group, weight loss by month 12 was -4.61 kg (95% CI, -7.37 to -1.85 kg; P ≤ 0.01) (-4.87% [CI, -7.61% to -2.13%]) for the TRE group and -5.42 kg (CI, -9.13 to -1.71 kg; P ≤ 0.01) (-5.30% [CI, -9.06% to -1.54%]) for the CR group, with no statistically significant difference between TRE and CR (0.81 kg [CI, -3.07 to 4.69 kg; P = 0.68]) (0.43% [CI, -3.48% to 4.34%]).LimitationNot blinded, not powered to detect relatively large differences in weight loss, and lack of adjustment for multiple comparisons.ConclusionTime-restricted eating is more effective in producing weight loss when compared with control but not more effective than CR in a racially diverse population.Primary Funding SourceNational Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

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