Time-Restricted eating: a simple diet hack for weight loss?
NCT ID NCT04916730
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether limiting food intake to a 10-hour window each day helps obese adults lose weight and improve body composition. Sixty-one participants will either follow this eating pattern plus nutritional counseling, or just receive counseling alone. The goal is to see if time-restricted eating is a practical, effective tool for weight management.
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 (10-hour eating window)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a simple, drug-free way to help manage obesity and improve body composition.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage study with only 61 participants. Results may not apply to everyone, and sticking to a strict 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
-
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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61 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Dec 2020
- Expected to finish
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Jan 2027
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 years and older
- 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: 1. Age: ≥ 18 years old 2. BMI 30-50 kg/m2 3. Own a smartphone with Apple iOS or Android OS 4. Baseline eating window ≥ 14 hours/day 5. If patients are on cardiovascular medications (HMG CoA reductase inhibitors (statins), other lipid modifying drugs (including over the counter drugs such as red yeast rice and fish oil), anti-hypertensive drugs, no dose adjustments will be allowed during the study period. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Taking insulin or anti-diabetic medications within the last 6 months. 2. Manifest diabetes, defined as fasting glucose ≥ 126 mg/dL, HbA1c ≥ 6.5%, or diagnosis of diabetes. 3. Currently taking any medication that is meant for, or has known effect on, appetite or body weight 4. Pregnant or breast-feeding women. 5. Caregiver for a dependent requiring frequent nocturnal care/sleep interruptions. Shift workers with variable (e.g. nocturnal) hours. 6. Planned international travel (time zone changes) during study period. 7. Taking therapeutic anticoagulation which might increase risk of bleeding from adipose tissue biopsy 8. History of surgical intervention for weight loss. 9. History of eating disorder 10. Currently enrolled in a weight-loss or weight-management program 11. On a special or prescribed diet for other reasons (e.g. Celiac disease) 12. Known inflammatory and/or rheumatologic disease 13. Active tobacco abuse or illicit drug use or history of treatment for alcohol abuse 14. History of bone marrow or solid organ transplant 15. History of heart failure 16. History of major adverse cardiovascular events (acute coronary syndrome (ACS), percutaneous coronary intervention, coronary artery bypass graft surgery, stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA)). 17. History of atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter 18. History of malignancy, other than non-melanoma skin cancer, that is currently being treated, or that has not been treated with definitive therapy and considered to be in remission. 19. History of hypo- or hyperthyroidism requiring dose titration of thyroid replacement medication(s) within the past 3 months (i.e. hypothyroidism on a stable dose of thyroid replacement therapy is not an exclusion) 20. History of adrenal disease 21. History of cirrhosis 22. History of stage 4 or 5 chronic kidney disease or requiring dialysis 23. History of HIV/AIDS 24. Uncontrolled psychiatric disorder (including history of hospitalization for psychiatric illness). 25. History of obstructive sleep apnea (not on stable positive pressure therapy or other treatment for at least 3 months prior to enrollment) 26. Abnormal screening labs: renal dysfunction (eGFR \< 30 ml/min/1.73 m2), anemia, hypo- or hyperthyroidism, coagulopathy, abnormal liver function (AST, ALT \> 3x upper limit of normal)
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute
La Jolla, California, 92093, United States
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