Do Eating Earlier In The Day Help With Weight Loss? What the latest study shows

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For people trying to lose weight, it has been hard to miss the enticing headlines about the power to consume meals earlier in the day. It’s not just what you eat, but when you eat what matters, recent studies seemed to show.

It turns out it’s not that simple after all.

The latest research, presented at the 2020 American Heart Association Science Sessions this month, found obese adults who consumed most of their calories before 1 p.m. for three months did not lose more weight than those who followed. a more typical diet, including eating a large meal after 5 p.m.

The results for time-limited eating – a form of intermittent fasting – even surprised the authors, who thought they saw a difference between the two groups.

“The bottom line is that the number of calories you eat is really much more than when you eat, and when you eat probably doesn’t impact your weight,” Dr. Nisa Maruthur, senior author, physician at first resort and associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, SAID TODAY.

As for the advice to eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper, “I think if you keep your calories the same it probably doesn’t matter,” he said. -she adds.

The reason this study may have had different results than others – and why it’s particularly compelling – is how well it was controlled, normalizing everything except meal times. With previous research, it was not clear whether people who ate earlier just ate fewer calories, Maruthur noted.

She and her colleagues recruited 41 obese middle-aged adults with pre-diabetes or diabetes. They were then randomly assigned to follow one of two feeding patterns for three months:

• Time-limited diet: Consume 80% of the daily calories before 1 p.m.
• Usual feeding scheme: Eat meals at regular times and consume half of the daily calories after 5 p.m.

All participants ate only the same healthy meals provided by the study’s metabolic kitchen. Calories were precisely controlled so that each person received the amount of food calculated to maintain their weight. The only thing that was different was the time of day the participants ate.

Their weight and blood pressure were measured before the start of the study, and then again after four, eight and 12 weeks.

After three months, both groups lost weight and had lower blood pressure – results expected when people know their eating habits are being observed and when they eat less salt, as was the case with meals. provided, Maruthur said.

But there was no difference in weight loss or blood pressure between participants who ate their meals earlier and those who ate on a standard schedule.

Maintain energy balance to maintain weight

With over 40% of Americans being obese, researchers have looked at time-limited eating as a strategy to help people control their weight. The theory is that meal times are important because the body’s internal clock – the circadian rhythm – does certain things better at different times of the day, controlling blood sugar better and digesting food more efficiently in the morning, for example.

So instead of focusing on what you eat or how much you eat, you focus your attention on what time you eat – limiting yourself to a small window, said Alexis Wood, assistant professor at Children’s. Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine Houston.

But it doesn’t seem to help people lose weight.

“All of the science supports this literature that restricting your eating window does not affect weight loss or cardiometabolic parameters unless – and here’s the caveat – your eating window restriction changes. also how much you eat or potentially the type of food you eat, ”said Wood, who is also chair of the American Heart Association Scientific Statement writing group.

“The most important thing you can do to help yourself maintain a healthy weight for yourself… is maintain energy balance. It is consuming the same calories that you burn. “

Although time-limited eating did not have an impact on weight loss in this study, Maruthur and colleagues are still waiting for lab results to see if it affects how the body manages blood sugar and other hormones. There may be some advantages.

Other power windows could show different results, she said. Most of the participants in that study, 90%, were women and blacks, with an average age of 59, but the results would likely apply to men and other races and ages as well, Maruthur said. .

“The number of calories you eat seems to be more important than when you consume your calories,” she repeated.