Time-restricted eating method, liver fat reduced by 23.7% and weight by 4.6%…effects similar to calorie restriction

Jul 24, 2025

Data source=Ansplash

Time-Restricted Eating has been shown to be effective in treating metabolism-related fatty liver (MASLD). The time-limited eating method is to eat only for a certain amount of time during the day, and fast the rest of the time. It is also a diet method that has recently been attracting attention due to word of mouth that it is effective in losing weight.

Professor Ahn Sang-bong and Oh Joo-hyun of the Department of Gastroenterology at Nowon Eulji University Hospital (Hospital President Yoo Tak-geun) and the KH Korea Health Management Association (Chairman Kim In-won) MediCheck Research Institute revealed that the time-restricted eating method is effective not only in weight loss but also in improving fatty liver through a 16-week clinical trial on metabolism-related fatty liver patients.

The research team conducted a clinical trial of 337 overweight or obese patients divided into three groups (general treatment/calorie-restricted diet/time-restricted diet) for 16 weeks. Among them, time-limited meals were combined with time-limited meals in which food was consumed only during 8 hours a day (mainly from 12 to 8 o'clock) and the remaining 16 hours were fasted.

As a result, the time-limited diet group confirmed that the liver's fat accumulated by an average of 23.7% and the overall weight decreased by 4.6%. This is significantly higher compared to the general treatment group (0.7% decrease). On the other hand, the effect was similar to that of the calorie-restricted group (24.7% reduction).

In addition, weight, waist circumference, and body fat were also significantly reduced in the time-restricted eating group. In particular, the percentage of losing more than 5% of weight was found in more than half, and visceral fat was also reduced, and it was confirmed that it had a positive effect on metabolic health as a whole.

These results were similar levels of improvement to the standard treatment, the calorie-restricted diet group. It should be noted that liver health can be maintained by maintaining existing meals and adjusting meal times without any calorie restriction and without any special dietary changes, such as Mediterranean diets. In particular, it is also useful that it can be easily practiced in everyday life according to the eating habits of Asians.

However, changes in blood sugar, cholesterol, and sleep time did not show significant differences between the time-restricted eating group and the calorie-restricted group. Therefore, it should be noted that while time-restricted eating is effective in improving liver health, there are no other metabolic indicators or special benefits to sleep.

Professor Ahn Sang-bong, co-corresponding author of the study, said "Fat liver is a disease that tends to be neglected because there are no special symptoms. However, early management is important because it can progress to cirrhosis or liver cancer in severe cases." Then "Time-restricted eating can be a way to prevent and manage liver disease, and it can be helpful if practiced steadily."," he added.

Meanwhile, the study was published in the latest issue of the Journal of Hepaticology (Impact Factor:33), the most prestigious academic journal related to liver disease, and was jointly conducted with the KH Korea Health Management Association as an academic research and development service project of the National Institute of Health.