Impact of Chronotype-Based Time-Restricted Eating on Visceral Fat and Metabolic Health in Physically Inactive Adults With Central Obesity

Time-restricted eating (TRE) has gained attention as a promising dietary strategy for enhancing body composition and metabolic health. This innovative eating pattern involves confining daily food intake to a specific window, typically spanning 6-10 hours. Given the lack of consensus on the optimal TRE strategy, this research explores whether tailoring eating windows to individual chronotypes enhances TRE outcomes. This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effects of chronotype-matched versus chronotype-unmatched TRE protocols, compared to a control group, over a 12-week period on visceral fat mass and other metabolic health outcomes in physically inactive adults with central obesity. Additionally, the study seeks to determine whether chronotype-matched TRE offers greater benefits in terms of visceral fat reduction and metabolic improvements compared to chronotype-unmatched TRE. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, and after the 12-week intervention.