Research

Energy balance

Time-restricted feeding (16:8 protocol) for 3 months significantly reduces body weight, BMI, and waist circumference in obese women, but does not significantly alter blood biomarkers associated with metabolic syndrome (glucose, lipids, insulin).

If you are obese and sedentary, trying a 16:8 fasting window (e.g., 8 PM to 12 PM) for 3 months will likely help you lose about 4 kg and reduce your waist size. However, do not expect your blood sugar or cholesterol numbers to improve significantly just from the timing; the benefit comes from the resulting weight loss. This approach is easier to stick to than strict calorie counting because you can eat normal foods during your 8-hour window.

ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
TRF was effective in reducing weight (~ 4 kg), BMI, % of body fat (%BF), waist circumference from baseline without changes in blood biomarkers associated with MetS.
Jéssica Daniela Schröder et al. · Journal of Translational Medicine · 2021

Why this rating

Non-randomized controlled trial with a small sample size (n=20 TRF, n=12 Control) and potential adherence issues.

Source

Effects of time-restricted feeding in weight loss, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk in obese women

Jéssica Daniela Schröder et al. · Journal of Translational Medicine · 2021

DOI 10.1186/s12967-020-02687-0

clinical_trial · n=32Cited 144×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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