What are the effects of time-restricted eating upon metabolic health outcomes in individuals with metabolic syndrome: A scoping review

The primary objective of this scoping review (ScR) was to assess the breadth and type of evidence related to time-restricted eating (TRE) as an intervention to modify metabolic health outcomes in individuals with diagnosed metabolic syndrome (MetS), a major health challenge due to increasing prevalence and association with other chronic diseases. MetS comprises three or more of hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, dyslipidaemia, dysregulated glucose homeostasis, and abdominal obesity. TRE, also known as time-restricted feeding (TRF), restricts food intake to specific time windows within a day, for example, a 10-h eating period between 10:00 and 20:00. Via multiple mechanisms, TRE interventions may provide an effective tool to prevent and treat metabolic disease such as MetS. While studies have assessed TRE in populations with components of MetS, there is a gap in the knowledge of how effective TRE can be for people with diagnosed MetS. A search of studies published in English in the PubMed (Medline), Embase, Cochrane, and PROSPERO databases was performed in February 2024. Of 3449 articles, 45 underwent full text analysis, and three were accepted into the ScR. These studies, comprising 10 and 8 h TRE interventions for 12 weeks, showed mixed benefits to body composition markers such as body weight, fat mass, and abdominal fat, blood pressure, and blood markers of lipid and glucose homeostasis. Future research into TRE and MetS will aim to more closely define optimal formulations of TRE interventions to improve MetS and its components.