Weight Loss Tips: Eat Within an 8-hour Window

Study shows that limiting eating to eight hours can help reverse obesity and reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. It doesn't matter if you indulge in fatty or sugary foods since the 8-hour limit seems to undo the harm caused by unhealthy diet. According to researchers, strict meal times can help the body predict when it will eat and make it better prepared to burn calories.

A research carried out at the Salk Institute in California showed that mice fed with high-fat diet within an 8-hour time frame were healthier and slimmer than those fed with food of the same calorie count throughout the day. Even obese mice whose eating window was reduced to nine hours showed weight loss of about five percent after a few days without any change in their calorie intake.

Even when the mice were allowed unlimited meals during the weekends, the protective effects of the diet were maintained during "cheat days".

Published in the journal Cell Metabolism, these evidence show that when we eat is just as important as what we eat. Scientists believe that sticking to regular meal times prepares the body to process food by synchronizing the digestive system with genes and proteins. It also helps with metabolism by affecting the balance of bacteria in the gut.

According to Professor Satchin Panda, who led the study, "Most of the advice is, 'You have to change nutrition, you have to eat a healthy diet.' But many people don't have access to healthy diets. So the question is, without access to a healthy diet, can they still practice time-restricted feeding and reap some benefit?"

"We found that animals fed within a window of eight to 12 hours had a number of health benefits compared with animals allowed to eat the same number of calories at any time," he added.