Research

Hormonal

Time-restricted eating (TRE) significantly increases low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in adults with overweight and obesity, although it does not significantly alter total cholesterol, HDL, or triglycerides.

While TRE helps reduce body fat, be aware that it may slightly increase your LDL ('bad') cholesterol. This increase was statistically significant but the authors note it does not pose a significant safety concern for most. If you have existing heart conditions or high cholesterol, monitor your levels and consult a doctor.

GoodQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
TRE... increased low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (MDpooled = 2.70, 95% CI = 0.17~5.22, p = 0.037), but it did not alter the total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, and triglycerides
Yixun Xie et al. · Nutrients · 2024

Why this rating

Based on meta-analysis of 10 studies; GRADE certainty 'high to moderate'.

Source

The Effects of Time-Restricted Eating on Fat Loss in Adults with Overweight and Obese Depend upon the Eating Window and Intervention Strategies: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Yixun Xie et al. · Nutrients · 2024

DOI 10.3390/nu16193390

Meta-analysis · 20 studiesCited 21×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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