Study finds meal synchronization strategies seem to reduce appetite and improve fat burning

Researchers have discovered that strategies such as intermittent fasting or eating earlier in the day seem to help people lose weight by reducing their appetite rather than burning more calories, according to a published report. online today in the newspaper Obesity, the flagship newspaper of the society of obesity. This study is the first to show how mealtimes affect energy metabolism over 24 hours when food intake and meal frequency are matched.

"Coordinating meals with circadian rhythms, or the internal clock of your body, can be a powerful strategy for reducing appetite and improving metabolic health," said Eric Ravussin, Ph.D., L & D. One of the study's authors and badociate executive director for clinical science at the Louisiana Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Baton Rouge State University.

"We suspect that a majority of people find meal-making strategies that are helpful for them to lose weight or to maintain their weight because they seem to naturally curb appetite, which could help people to lose weight." Eat less, "said Courtney M. Peterson, Ph.D., lead author of the study and badistant professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.

Peterson and his colleagues also reported that meal planning strategies can help people burn more fat on average over a 24-hour period. Early Restricted Feeding (eTRF) – a form of intermittent fasting daily where dinner is taken in the afternoons – has helped improve people's ability to switch from carbohydrate to Burning energy to fat burning, an aspect of metabolism called metabolic flexibility. The authors of the study, however, indicated that the results regarding fat burning are preliminary. "If these strategies help people lose body fat, they will have to be tested and confirmed in a much longer study," Peterson said.

For the study, the researchers recruited 11 adult men and women who were overweight. Participants were recruited between November 2014 and August 2016. Adults, generally in good health, aged 20 to 45 years were eligible to participate if they had a body mbad index between 25 and 35 kg / m .² (included), body weight between 68 and 100 kg, regular bedtime between 21:30. and 12 hours, and for women, a regular menstrual cycle.

Participants tried two different strategies of synchronizing meals in random order: a control program in which participants took three meals over a 12-hour period, with a breakfast at 8:00 and a dinner at 20:00. and an eTRF program where participants had three meals over a six-hour period, with breakfast served at 8:00 and dinner at 14:00. The same quantities and types of food were consumed in both schedules. The fasting periods of the control program included 12 hours a day, while the eTRF program consisted of 18 hours of fasting a day.

Participants in the study followed the different schedules for four consecutive days. On the fourth day, the researchers measured participants' metabolism by placing them in a breathing chamber (a room-like device) where they measured the number of calories, carbohydrates, fats and proteins burned. The researchers also measured participants' appetite every three hours when they were awake, as well as hunger hormones in the morning and evening.

Although ETF did not have a significant impact on the number of calories burned by the participants, the researchers found that it was possible to reduce the levels of ghrelin, a hunger, and improve some aspects of appetite. It also increased fat burning during the 24-hour day.

"By testing eTRF, we were able to kill two birds with one stone," said Peterson, adding that the researchers had a better understanding of daily intermittent fasting (restricted feeding over time), as well as synchronization strategies. meals earlier in the day to be in tune with circadian rhythms. Researchers believe that these two broad categories of meal planning strategies may have similar benefits to eTRF.

Hollie Raynor, Ph.D., RD, DND, who was not badociated with the research, said, "This study helps provide more information on how dietary habits, not just that you eat, can be important for achieving a healthy weight. "Raynor is a professor and acting dean of research at the Department of Nutrition, College of Education, Health and Human Sciences at the University. Tennessee, Knoxville.

Peterson and his colleagues said previous research was contradictory as to whether meal choice strategies help to lose weight by helping people burn more calories or reduce appetite. Studies in rodents suggest that such strategies burn more calories, but data from human studies were contradictory – some studies suggested that meal synchronization strategies increased calories burned, but Other reports showed no difference. The authors of the study, however, indicated that previous studies did not directly measure the number of calories burned or imperfect in any other way.