A popular weight loss strategy that limits the hours during which calories can be consumed may nearly double a person’s long-term risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, new research finds, especially among people with underlying cardiovascular disease or cancer.
But questions remain about just how time-restricted eating, which limits calorie consumption to part of the day, affects heart disease and stroke risks. Prior studies have suggested the eating pattern may lower cardiovascular risk factors in the short term.
While the new research is compelling, the reasons why participants chose this style of eating were unknown, said Dr. Kenneth Mukamal, a primary care doctor at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston. Mukamal was not involved in the study, which was presented Monday at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health conference in Chicago.
“This was a reasonable effort to look at long-term effects of time-restricted eating,” he said. “At first glance, it does not suggest this is likely to be of cardiovascular benefit and indeed it was harmful. But there could be health reasons to eat in a time-restricted manner that would make this appear harmful, when it’s not.”
Mukamal said it is too soon to conclude that people should avoid time-restricted eating if it helps them meet their weight loss goals. “At this point, if people want to eat over a shorter duration and it’s easier for them to maintain their weight that way, I would not use this as a reason not to do it,” he said.
Time-restricted eating, a type of intermittent fasting, typically restricts calorie intake to a window of four to 12 hours. Prior research has shown it may be an effective weight loss strategy, especially when combined with calorie restrictions. Studies also have suggested it may lower blood pressure and other key indicators of…
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