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Background
The on-going epidemic of non-communicable diseases in industrialised countries threatens to overtax the health and social systems of these nations. New approaches beyond the usual therapeutic and preventive measures which have been applied so far must be tested. A paradigm shift with regard to nutrition and associated illness is overdue. Time-restricted feeding (TRF) offers a low threshold and easy to implement lifestyle change which may have what it takes for broad, population-wide applicability and a widely diversified range of possible effects. In this pilot study we will examine the feasibility and adherence of TRF in healthy adult employees.
Methods
Pre-post-design study with healthy volunteers from the staff of Ulm University and Ulm University Hospital. Participants were asked to reduce their daily eating time to 8-9 hours for three months. Surrounding the eating time they were allowed drinks other than water for 12 hours and water for the rest of the day. Anthropometric measurements were taken by trained staff and blood samples were taken at baseline and follow-up. Questionnaires were handed out pre and post and during the course of the study timing of the first and the last meal, as well as sleep duration and quality, were assessed in diaries.
Results
Sixty three participants (aged 47.8±10.5) were recruited and started the intervention immediately after the baseline assessment. Two persons dropped out while all others finished the study. Ratings of compatibility of TRF with professional activities were good in 78% of participants while 18% reported to have encountered some difficulties. On average, the fasting target was reached on 72.2±18.9% of recorded days. After three months of TRF, participants showed moderate reductions in weight (-1.3±2.3kg, p=<0.001) and waist circumference (-1.7±3.22cm, p=<0.001). Health-related quality of life increased significantly by 5.8±12.4 (p=0.008) points between baseline and follow-up.
Conclusions
TRF is feasible and well accepted, even in regularly employed persons, and improves HRQoL. TRF may help to reduce obesity and abdominal obesity in adult working people and so help to prevent non-communicable diseases, but volunteers need more guidance to increase effects.
Keywords
Time-restricted feeding, feasibility, adherence, fasting, working people, healthy adults, weight reduction, health-related quality of life
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This is a preprint, a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Research article
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
History
CURRENT STATUS: Posted
Version 1
Posted 14 Jan, 2020
No community comments so far
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background
The on-going epidemic of non-communicable diseases in industrialised countries threatens to overtax the health and social systems of these nations. New approaches beyond the usual therapeutic and preventive measures which have been applied so far must be tested. A paradigm shift with regard to nutrition and associated illness is overdue. Time-restricted feeding (TRF) offers a low threshold and easy to implement lifestyle change which may have what it takes for broad, population-wide applicability and a widely diversified range of possible effects. In this pilot study we will examine the feasibility and adherence of TRF in healthy adult employees.
Methods
Pre-post-design study with healthy volunteers from the staff of Ulm University and Ulm University Hospital. Participants were asked to reduce their daily eating time to 8-9 hours for three months. Surrounding the eating time they were allowed drinks other than water for 12 hours and water for the rest of the day. Anthropometric measurements were taken by trained staff and blood samples were taken at baseline and follow-up. Questionnaires were handed out pre and post and during the course of the study timing of the first and the last meal, as well as sleep duration and quality, were assessed in diaries.
Results
Sixty three participants (aged 47.8±10.5) were recruited and started the intervention immediately after the baseline assessment. Two persons dropped out while all others finished the study. Ratings of compatibility of TRF with professional activities were good in 78% of participants while 18% reported to have encountered some difficulties. On average, the fasting target was reached on 72.2±18.9% of recorded days. After three months of TRF, participants showed moderate reductions in weight (-1.3±2.3kg, p=<0.001) and waist circumference (-1.7±3.22cm, p=<0.001). Health-related quality of life increased significantly by 5.8±12.4 (p=0.008) points between baseline and follow-up.
Conclusions
TRF is feasible and well accepted, even in regularly employed persons, and improves HRQoL. TRF may help to reduce obesity and abdominal obesity in adult working people and so help to prevent non-communicable diseases, but volunteers need more guidance to increase effects.
Figure 1
Figure 2
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