The Study
Randomized controlled trial for time-restricted eating in overweight and obese young adults
This study tried two different eating schedules on a small group of young adults and saw what happened to their weight and health. It doesn't prove one schedule is better—it just shows some numbers changed a little, and we can't be sure if it was because of the eating times or just luck.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
This study tested if eating only between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. is better for your health than eating later, even if you eat the same amount of food.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 567 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1A 5.5 mmHg drop in blood pressure is clinically meaningful — it’s similar to the benefit from walking 30 minutes daily.
- 2Lower blood sugar and insulin mean less strain on your pancreas and lower diabetes risk.
- 3People who ate only until 1 p.m.
- 4lost about 4.6% of their body weight, had 5.5 mmHg lower blood pressure, and 2.3 mg/dL lower average blood sugar than those who ate later or anytime.
- 5Those who ate later lost similar weight but didn't get these other benefits.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
iScience
Year
2022
Authors
Li-min Zhang, Zhan Liu, Jiaqi Wang, Rui-qiang Li, Jing-yi Ren, Xiang Gao, Shuai-shuai Lv, Lu-yao Liang, Fan Zhang, Bo-wen Yin, Y. Sun, Hao Tian, Huiyuan Zhu, Yutian Zhou, Yu-xia Ma
Related Content
Claims (7)
People who eat only during a limited window each day have better metabolic health than those who eat throughout the day.
When people eat all their daily calories earlier in the day instead of later, and consume the same total number of calories, their fasting blood sugar and diastolic blood pressure are lower.
In overweight and obese young adults aged 19–29, eating only between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. for eight weeks led to lower systolic blood pressure, lower average daily glucose, lower fasting insulin, and lower insulin resistance compared to eating at any time of day, even when weight loss was the same.
In overweight and obese young adults, eating only during an earlier part of the day is linked to lower levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone and triiodothyronine than eating later in the day or eating without time restrictions.
Eating within an earlier window of the day leads to better metabolic health outcomes than eating within a later window.
In overweight and obese young adults, eating within a 6-hour early window leads to larger decreases in leptin and the leptin-to-adiponectin ratio than eating later in the day or eating without time restrictions, even when weight does not change.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.