New research conducted by the University of Surrey has found that changing your meal times can reduce body fat.
Study authors carried out a 10-week investigation into "time-restricted feeding" (a type of intermittent fasting) where participants were allowed to eat whatever they wanted, as long as it was within a specific window of time.
For their investigation, researchers split the volunteers into two groups. The first acted as a control group where they were able to eat as they usually would. The second group was required to eat brekky 90 minutes later than normal and eat dinner 90 minutes earlier.
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Blood samples were taken beforehand while eating diaries and questionnaires were also completed.
Interestingly, results found that those eating within a specific time window saw body fat decrease by twice as much as the control group.
According to the questionnaire filled out, 57 per cent of participants also noticed they ate less, either due to decreased appetite or less snacking because they were only allowed to eat at certain times.
"Although this study is small, it has provided us with invaluable insight into how slight alterations to our meal times can have benefits to our bodies,” says lead author Dr. Jonathan Johnston, from the University of Surrey.
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“Reduction in body fat lessens our chances of developing obesity and related diseases, so is vital in improving our overall health. However, as we have seen with these participants, fasting diets are difficult to follow and may not always be compatible with family and social life. We therefore need to make sure they are flexible and conducive to real life, as the potential benefits of such diets are clear to see.
"We are now going to use these preliminary findings to design larger, more comprehensive studies of time-restricted feeding".
Unfortunately, more than half of respondents in the survey also admitted they'd find it difficult to maintain the restrictive eating window due to family and social commitments.
I think i can manage with eating pizza half an hour earlier.
