When it comes to preventing or reversing obesity timing really is everything. A new study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California and published this week in the journal Cell Metabolismindicates that limiting one’s food consumption to a specific 8-12 hour window during the day may could be more effective in preventing diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity.
Satchidananda Panda, associate professor at Salk Institute stated: “These days, most of the advice is, ‘You have to change nutrition, you have to eat a healthy diet. But many people don’t have access to healthy diets. So the question is, without access to a healthy diet, can they still practice time-restricted feeding and reap some benefit?”
Panda and his colleagues chose 400 mice that ranged from normal to obese in terms of weight. They put them on a diet wherein they would only feed them over varying lengths of time.
In the end, the research team determined that the rodents that were fed a high-fat diet but only within a specific 12-hour time slot actually became thinner and healthier than the other mice that were permitted to eat the same high-fat food and the same number of calories any time they chose. Additionally, test results were the same for a high sugar diet and a high fruit sugar diet as well.
Amandine Caix, lead study author and postdoctoral researcher, said: The fact that it worked no matter what the diet, and the fact that it worked over the weekend and weekdays, was a very nice surprise.” Overall, time-restricted feeding can be a highly effective behavioral intervention that “de-emphasizes caloric intake, hence making it an attractive and easily adoptable lifestyle modification.” The team concluded that a randomized control trial would demonstrate whether this strategy would work for humans wishing to reverse or prevent obesity.
