The Study
Calorie Restriction with or without Time-Restricted Eating in Weight Loss.
This study is like a fair race between two diets: one where you eat only in the morning, and one where you eat all day but eat less. They found the weight loss was about the same, but not so exactly the same that we can say for sure one isn’t just a tiny bit better. So we can’t say one diet definitely causes more weight loss — but we can say they’re probably pretty similar.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Two groups of people with obesity tried different ways to lose weight: one ate only between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., the other ate anytime but cut calories. Both lost weight, but one didn’t lose more than the other.
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 563 / 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.
- 1Losing 6–8 kg over a year is meaningful for health, but eating only during the day didn’t help people lose extra weight compared to just counting calories.
- 2Group 1 (8 a.m.–4 p.m.
- 3eating): lost 8.0 kg.
- 4Group 2 (anytime eating): lost 6.3 kg.
- 5Difference: 1.8 kg — not enough to say one method is better.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
The New England journal of medicine
Year
2022
Authors
Deying Liu, Yan Huang, Chensihan Huang, Shunyu Yang, Xueyun Wei, Peizhen Zhang, D. Guo, Jiayang Lin, Bingyan Xu, Changwei Li, Hua He, Jiang He, Shi-qun Liu, Linna Shi, Yao-ming Xue, Huijie Zhang
Related Content
Claims (4)
If you eat only during certain hours of the day or just count your calories, you’ll lose about the same amount of weight—roughly 4.5% of your body weight—after six months.
If you're an adult with obesity, eating only during a certain window each day for a year won't help you lose more waist size, weight, or fat—or improve your blood pressure and metabolism—any better than just eating fewer calories every day.
If you're overweight and eat only between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. for a year, you’ll lose about 8 kg — but if you just eat fewer calories without worrying about when you eat, you’ll lose about 6.3 kg. The difference is so small that it doesn’t really matter which method you pick — cutting calories is what matters most.
If you're an adult with obesity and you eat only during certain hours of the day for a year, it won't make you more likely to have bad side effects than if you just eat fewer calories every day.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.