Time to Eat: Effects of Personalized Regular Meal Schedules on Body Weight and Mental and Physical Well-Being—A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial

  1. Isabell Wilming
  2. Jana Tuschewski
  3. Jessie M. Osterhaus
  4. Theresa J. G. Bringmann
  5. Anisja Hühne-Landgraf
  6. Olga Pivovarova-Ramich
  7. Dominic Landgraf
11 evaluations Published on
Read the full article Related papers
This article on Sciety

Abstract

Background

Circadian disruption is associated with metabolic and mental health disturbances, but whether increasing meal regularity can reduce body weight and improve well-being without prescribed dietary restriction is unclear.

Objective

To test the effects of personalized regular meal schedules on body weight and well-being in adults with body mass index (BMI) ≥22 kg/m².

Methods

In this single-center randomized controlled pilot trial, 121 adults were assigned 2:1 to personalized meal schedules derived from 2 weeks of app-based dietary records or to a minimal-intervention control using a self-selected 18-hour eating window. The intervention lasted 6 weeks. One hundred participants completed the trial and were included in the primary analysis. Models adjusted for baseline BMI, age, sex, and, for non-weight outcomes, the corresponding baseline value.

Results

Compared with controls, the intervention group had greater reductions in body weight (adjusted difference, −2.10 kg; 95% CI: −2.86, −1.34; P < 0.0001) and BMI (−0.70 kg/m²; 95% CI: −0.94, −0.45; P < 0.0001). Meal timing variability decreased substantially (−2.72 points; 95% CI: −3.13, −2.30; P < 0.0001), and greater improvements in regularity were associated with greater weight loss. Weight change was not associated with self-reported changes in energy intake or macronutrient composition. Among well-being outcomes, sleep quality showed the clearest adjusted between-group improvement (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: −1.47 points; 95% CI: −2.28, −0.65; P = 0.0006).

Conclusions

Personalized regular meal schedules reduced body weight and were accompanied by improvements in well-being, most clearly sleep quality. Larger trials using objective metabolic and circadian measures are needed to confirm clinical utility and clarify mechanisms.

Trial registration

German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00021419, registered August 21, 2020; <ext-link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="https://drks.de/search/en/trial/DRKS00021419">https://drks.de/search/en/trial/DRKS00021419</ext-link> .

Related articles

Related articles are currently not available for this article.