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Daytime vs. Delayed Eating Among Obese Individuals

Randomized Controlled Trial Examining the Effects of Meal Timing Among Obese Individuals

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03354169
Enrollment
38
Registered
2017-11-27
Start date
2018-02-07
Completion date
2023-03-02
Last updated
2025-11-21

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Obesity

Keywords

Metabolism, Eating, Circadian Rhythms

Brief summary

The randomized, cross-over design study is designed to determine how timing of eating affects weight, adiposity, energy metabolism, and gene expression. Obese participants will be provided isocaloric meals and snacks to be consumed in one of two prescribed eating conditions -- daytime eating and delayed eating.

Detailed description

The study consists of the following phases - screening, assessment visit 1, eating condition 1, assessment visit 2, a wash-out period, assessment visit 3, eating condition 2 and assessment visit 4, as discussed in detail below. The assessment visits will all consist of the same procedures and will take place at the Center for Human Phenomic Science (CHPS) of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania before and after each of the eating conditions (four times total). The four 28-hour inpatient assessments will consist of blood draws, adipose (fat) tissue sampling, a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan, and a resting metabolic rate test. During the screening period in order to determine eligibility, participants must complete a 2-part screening visit; This includes: 1. A complete physical examination 2. Tests of blood to screen for any conditions such as diabetes or any serious, uncontrolled medical condition that may interfere with participation in the study. 3. An Electrocardiogram (EKG) test 4. Urine Pregnancy Test 5. Urine Drug Screening 6. the completion of several self-report questionnaires and structured interviews During the screening period, participants will also be asked to keep a 10-day food log where they will record all food and beverages consumed and their sleep and exercise schedule. Participants will be asked to wear an Actigraph wrist watch at this time. Following successful completion of the screening period, participants will complete the first of 4 assessment visits. All assessment visits will follow the same protocol. Assessment Visit Day 1 Procedures: The visit will include 28 hours (overnight) spent at the CHPS, where meals and snacks will be provided. At each of the assessment visits participants will be given a urine drug screening and, if appropriate, a pregnancy test. The lights will be dim in the hospital room to control for light. Participants will arrive at 7:00 am. Starting at 8:00 am, blood will be drawn every four hours. From this blood gene expression and hormones related to metabolism, eating, and sleep will be measured. Following the first blood draw, resting metabolic rate is measured for 45 minutes. Lunch is then provided, followed by a measurement of body composition using a DEXA scan. Next, the adipose tissue sampling procedure will begin. Lastly, the participants will complete a series of cognitive tests administered on a laptop. Participants will be provided meals and snacks during their visit and are free to watch television or participate in other sedentary pastimes while they are there. Assessment Visit Day 2 Procedures: After an overnight fast, participants will undergo the Frequently Sampled Intravenous Glucose Tolerance Test (FSIGT) on the morning of day 2. Following the FSIGT test, participants will be served a meal and during the first assessment visit, participants will be randomly assigned to start with one of two eating conditions for the next 8 weeks: 1) Daytime or 2) Delayed. Following randomization, participants will be discharged from CHPS and begin eating condition 1. If participants are assigned to the daytime eating condition first, they will be asked to consume all of their meals and snacks each day between 8:00 am and 7:00 pm. If they are assigned to the delayed eating condition first, they will be asked to consume all of their meals and snacks between 12 noon and 11:00 pm each day. Participants will eat on this schedule for 8 weeks. During the two, 8-week eating periods, all of the meals and snacks will be provided by the research kitchen. During the eating conditions, participants will be asked to complete daily self-report queries concerning their adherence to the food, sleep, and physical activity requirements of the study. Following eating condition 1, participants will return for assessment visit 2. This assessment visit follows the same procedures as all other assessment visits. Following assessment visit 2, participants will begin their 2 week washout period where they are instructed to eat as they normally would whenever they like. Following the two-week washout period, participants will return for assessment visit 3, after which they will begin eating condition 2. Following 8 weeks of eating condition 2 participants will return for their final visit, assessment visit 4. After this final assessment, participation in the study will be complete.

Interventions

Participants will be randomly assigned to eat per the prescribed eating condition for 8 weeks during eating condition 1. They will complete the alternate eating condition for 8 weeks during eating condition 2.

OTHERNo Intervention; withdrawn before randomization

These participants were withdrawn and did not receive an intervention.

Sponsors

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
CollaboratorNIH
University of Pennsylvania
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE

Intervention model description

Randomized within subjects, cross-over design

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
21 Years to 50 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* age 21-50 * BMI of 30-50 kg/m2 * stable weight (±10 lb) over the previous 6 months * women must be pre-menopausal with regular menstrual cycles

Exclusion criteria

* unstable, serious medical conditions * use of medicine linked to weight gain/loss * cardiac conditions * cancer * diabetes * autoimmune disease * use of illicit drugs, melatonin, diuretics or hypnotics * involved in a current weight loss program * presence of an untreated sleep disorder (determined by surveys and actigraphy) * those who work shift work * those with extreme chronotypes * habitual waking outside of 0600h-0930h * habitual bedtime \<2200h or \>2400h * sleep duration of \<6.5 or \>8.5 h/night. * psychiatric exclusions will be: depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score ≥9), lifetime bipolar disorder, psychosis, or eating disorder; or any other severe psychiatric disorder judged to interfere with study adherence as assessed by the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview. * structured exercise \>3 d/wk, for \>30 min measured by exercise logs and actigraphy; normal activity levels are required during the study (±30 min/wk of baseline level).

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Body Mass (Weight)pre-post changes between the daytime and delayed eating conditions (each 8 weeks long)changes in body mass, as measured by a calibrated digital scale, will be explored.
Adiposity - Total Body Fatpre-post changes between the daytime and delayed eating conditions (8 weeks).changes in measures of total body fat, as measured by a DEXA scan, will be explored.
Energy Homeostasis Outcomes - REEpre-post changes between the daytime and delayed eating conditions (8 weeks).Changes in resting energy expenditure values will be explored.
Energy Homeostasis - Respiratory Quotientpre-post changes between the daytime and delayed eating conditions (8 weeks).Respiratory quotient (RQ) was measured with a Parvo-Medics metabolic cart. It is calculated from the ratio of carbon dioxide produced by the body to oxygen consumed by the body, when the body is in a steady state.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
All Study Participants
Participants will be asked to eat all of their meals and snacks, as provided by the study, between 0800h and 1900h during the Daytime condition and between 1200h and 2300h in the Delayed condition. Participants will be randomly assigned to eat per the prescribed eating condition for 8 weeks during eating condition 1. They will then have a 2-week washout period. They will complete the alternative eating condition for 8 weeks during eating condition 2. Two participants were withdrawn from the study after assessment visit 1 and were not randomized.
38
Total38

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicAll Study Participants
Age, Continuous34.94 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 8.97
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Hispanic or Latino
1 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Not Hispanic or Latino
37 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
2 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
10 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
25 Participants
Region of Enrollment
United States
38 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
26 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
12 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
EG002
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
0 / 360 / 360 / 2
other
Total, other adverse events
6 / 366 / 362 / 2
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 360 / 360 / 2

Outcome results

Primary

Adiposity - Total Body Fat

changes in measures of total body fat, as measured by a DEXA scan, will be explored.

Time frame: pre-post changes between the daytime and delayed eating conditions (8 weeks).

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
Daytime Eating ConditionAdiposity - Total Body Fat-0.3300 percentage of total body massStandard Deviation 1.8217
Delayed Eating ConditionAdiposity - Total Body Fat-0.4833 percentage of total body massStandard Deviation 1.2862
Primary

Body Mass (Weight)

changes in body mass, as measured by a calibrated digital scale, will be explored.

Time frame: pre-post changes between the daytime and delayed eating conditions (each 8 weeks long)

Population: Thirty participants completed the two eating conditions; six were withdrawn prior to completing at least two assessment visits.

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
Daytime Eating ConditionBody Mass (Weight)-2.1067 kgStandard Deviation 3.8373
Delayed Eating ConditionBody Mass (Weight)-2.1887 kgStandard Deviation 2.7237
Primary

Energy Homeostasis Outcomes - REE

Changes in resting energy expenditure values will be explored.

Time frame: pre-post changes between the daytime and delayed eating conditions (8 weeks).

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
Daytime Eating ConditionEnergy Homeostasis Outcomes - REE-32.4723 kcals per dayStandard Deviation 260.807
Delayed Eating ConditionEnergy Homeostasis Outcomes - REE47.0390 kcals per dayStandard Deviation 240.9396
Primary

Energy Homeostasis - Respiratory Quotient

Respiratory quotient (RQ) was measured with a Parvo-Medics metabolic cart. It is calculated from the ratio of carbon dioxide produced by the body to oxygen consumed by the body, when the body is in a steady state.

Time frame: pre-post changes between the daytime and delayed eating conditions (8 weeks).

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
Daytime Eating ConditionEnergy Homeostasis - Respiratory Quotient-0.203 ratio of CO2 produced/O2 consumedStandard Deviation 0.0607
Delayed Eating ConditionEnergy Homeostasis - Respiratory Quotient-0.0197 ratio of CO2 produced/O2 consumedStandard Deviation 0.6499

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026