Time-Restricted eating: a new weapon against fatty liver?
NCT ID NCT07378072
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 30, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This study tests whether limiting food intake to an 8-hour window each day (without counting calories) can reduce liver fat in people with obesity and a type of fatty liver disease called MASLD. Seventy-two participants will either follow this eating pattern plus standard advice, or receive standard advice alone, for 12 weeks. The main goal is to see if liver fat decreases more with time-restricted eating.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- time-restricted eating (eating only within an 8-hour window each day)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a simple, calorie-free way to reduce liver fat in people with obesity and fatty liver disease.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial with only 72 people. The results may not apply to everyone, and sticking to an 8-hour eating window can be hard to maintain long-term.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 72 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2026
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 65 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Body mass index (BMI) between 30.0 and 49.9 kg/m2 * Age between 18 and 65 years (limits included) * Sedentary (light-intensity physical activity less than 1 hour per week) or moderately active (moderate exercise 1 to 2 hours per week). Self-declared criteria. * Weight stable for at least 3 months prior to the beginning of the study (gain or loss \<4 kg). Self-declared criteria. * Able to give written informed consent * Self-reported eating interval \> 12 hours per day * Subject who owns a smartphone with access to the internet, and agrees to use it in the study * Affiliation with French social security system or beneficiary from such system * Fibroscan® Controlled Attenuation Parameter (CAP) \> 300 dB/ms * Hepatitis B and C serologies negative (or showing past-infection or protective immunization) Exclusion Criteria: * Alcohol intake \> 20 g/day * Night-shift workers or rotating shift workers * Smoking * Patient with diabetes if HbA1c not at target (\<7%) and/or using a non-authorized medication) * Chronic liver disease other than MASLD * Severe hepatic disease (cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma) * Severe cardiac disease (Chronic heart failure classified as being in New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class III or IV) * Severe Kidney disease with CKD-EPI\<30 mL/min/1,73m2 * Initiation of hormonal treatment during the study period * Medications affecting weight or energy balance * Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) not possible due to patient's anthropometric characteristics. Any of the following: * abdominal and/or thoracic circumference with arms greater than 200 cm * Sagittal diameter (or abdominal height, i.e. the distance between the dorsum and the apex of the abdomen, which was measured in the supine position at the midpoint between the iliac crest and the last rib) over 70 cm * body weight over 160 kg * MRI not possible due to the following (an MRI safety screening form will have to be filled for inclusion): presence of a pacemaker or cardiac defibrillator or cardiovascular catheter or neurostimulator or an implantable electronic pump for automated drug injection or an electronically-controlled implantable chamber. Ocular metallic foreign bodies * History of severe eating disorders: Binge Eating Disorder, Bulimia Nervosa; Night eating syndrome * Minors * Adults under guardianship, trusteeship or under safeguard of justice * Other clinical trial participation that could interfere with the study * Pregnant women or women trying to be pregnant * Nursing mothers * Any treatment triggering hepatic steatosis
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Get notified about this study
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
9 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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CHU Angers
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGAngers, 49993, France
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CHU Bordeaux
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGBordeaux, 33404, France
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CHU Dijon-Bourgogne
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGDijon, 21000, France
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CHU Lyon
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGLyon, 69495, France
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CHU Marseille
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGMarseille, 13000, France
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CHU Montpellier
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGMontpellier, 34000, France
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CHU Nantes
RECRUITINGNantes, 44093, France
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CHU Rennes
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGRennes, 35000, France
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Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGParis, 75015, France
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