TRE study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Effect of Time-Restricted Eating in Cardiometabolic Health
IRAS ID
322459
Contact name
Maria Chondronikola
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and University of Cambridge
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The number of people with obesity and its related diseases ( for example, diabetes and heart disease) have increased over the last few decades worldwide. Obesity and its related diseases lead to early deaths and lower wellbeing. Changes in nutrition have contributed to the increases in obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Apart from the increase in the calories consumed, there have also been changes meal timing (when and how often we eat). Changes in meal timing may explain the high number of people with obesity and heart disease. Time-restricted eating (TRE) is a diet approach in which people consume of all their food for the day during a 6-12 hour period and fast for the rest of the day. TRE improves heart health in mice even without losing weight. However, it is unclear whether TRE has similar benefits in people. Our goal is to answer two questions: 1) Does TRE increase the ability of the body to remove sugars and lipids from the blood? 2) Does TRE improve the ability of skeletal muscle and fat tissue to process sugars and lipids? To answer these questions, we will study people with obesity and at high risk for heart disease. Participants will be randomly assigned to the TRE group (eating all their food for the day in 9 hours) or the control group (eating all their food for the day in 14 hours) for 12 weeks. We will perform various tests to assess changes in metabolism before and after the intervention. This research will help us discover whether TRE is an effective intervention against heart disease and develop better strategies to improve quality of life and well-being.
REC name
East of England - Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/EE/0133
Date of REC Opinion
14 Jul 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion