Time-restricted eating

Time-restricted eating (TRE) confines daily food intake to a consistent window of typically 6–10 hours, leaving 14–18 hours of fasting. The concept emerged from Satchin Panda's circadian biology lab at the Salk Institute. Some trials report improved insulin sensitivity, lipids, and blood pressure independent of calorie reduction; others, including Liu et al. (NEJM 2022), found that time-restricted eating combined with caloric restriction was not superior to caloric restriction alone for weight or metabolic outcomes. Early-window TRE may be preferable, but the evidence remains preliminary.