A Weight Loss Plan with Restricted Diet is as effective as other more Complex ones

A pilot study of time-restricted eating, in which food is consumed only in an eight-hour daily period, has shown that the plan is simple, easy to follow, and that weight loss is at least as good as which is achieved with a diet with more complex interventions, as published in the journal ‘PLOS ONE’.

In this research, fifty obese participants tried to follow the plan for 12 weeks. Telephone surveys were conducted weekly, and at 6 and 12 weeks the participants went to the clinic to be weighed.

Almost 60% of the participants were still eating time restricted at three months and had lost an average of 3.5 kilos, but even those who did not achieve full adherence also lost weight.

Researchers from Queen Mary University of London say the adherence and weight loss results are encouraging enough to warrant a randomized trial with long-term follow-up.

The author Dunja Przulj, from Queen Mary University of London, points out that “there is currently a lack of simple weight control plans that people can follow. In this study, more than a quarter of the participants had lost at least 5% of their initial body weight at 12 weeks, “he highlights.