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TRE: Microbiome, Metabolic Health and Bone

Time Restricted Eating on the Microbiome Affecting Metabolic Health and Bone in Older Women

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05548517
Acronym
TREMBO
Enrollment
48
Registered
2022-09-21
Start date
2022-10-15
Completion date
2025-07-01
Last updated
2024-07-16

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

Conditions

Weight Loss, Time Restricted Feeding, Bone Loss

Keywords

bone mineral density, Microbiome, obesity and overweight, metabolic health, time restricted feeding, energy restriction

Brief summary

In the Time-Restricted Eating: Microbiome and Bone (TREMBO) study, the primary goal is to determine the effect of time-restricted eating with caloric restriction compared to caloric restriction alone on body weight, the gut microbiota, and bone health in older women who are overweight or obese.

Detailed description

Time-restricted eating (TRE) has gained increased attention due to the possibility to induce weight loss and improve cardiometabolic health as a result of the purported alignment of circadian rhythm. However, since TRE is often reported to cause a spontaneous reduction of calories, it is not well understood if these health benefits are due to weight loss, circadian rhythm alignment, or a combination of the two. Furthermore, while weight loss can improve cardiometabolic health, it can also induce bone loss, which is problematic in older women who are at a higher risk of fracture. Interestingly, both bone turnover and the gut microbiota are responsive to diurnal variations, such as meal timing, and alterations in the gut microbiota have been associated with differences in bone health. In rodent models, caloric restriction can alter the gut microbiota composition with further alterations shown due to time-restricted eating. This suggests that time-restricted eating could affect bone health, which may be partially mediated by changes in the gut microbiota. Also, lifestyle patterns affects both the microbiota and bone. This randomized controlled trial will use behavior modification to examine TRE plus caloric restriction (CR) to achieve an evening energy deficit compared to CR alone on body weight, the gut microbiota, and bone health in older women who are overweight or obese.

Interventions

9-hour eating window

BEHAVIORALCalorie Restriction

daily calorie restriction

Sponsors

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Intervention model description

Randomized Controlled Trial Enroll 48 to achieve sample size of 40 (20/group)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
50 Years to 79 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Postmenopausal women (\>2 years since last menses) * Body mass index (25-45 kg/m2) * Agree to be randomly assigned to consume food for ≤ 9 hours/day or ≥12 hours/day * Must attend on-site visits (about 10) in New Brunswick, NJ, USA (transportation/reimbursement for travel not included)

Exclusion criteria

* Participants with \>5% weight loss in the past 6 months or extreme dietary/physical activity habits * An inability to follow the experimental intervention or to perform the required specimen collections * Antibiotic use in the past 2 months * Current diagnosis, or history of cancer in past 3 years * History of surgical procedure for weight loss in the past 3 years * Current diagnosis or history of bone diseases, type I or II diabetes, gastrointestinal disease, hyperparathyroidism, untreated thyroid disease, significant immune, hepatic, cardiac, or renal disease * Uncontrolled hypertension or hyperlipidemia in abnormal ranges * Regular use of medications that affect bone metabolism, including bisphosphonates or hormone replacement. * A colonoscopy within the past 2 months * Alcohol or illicit drug abuse * Current smoker or having quit smoking in the past 3 months * Shift work * Participation in another clinical research trial which may interfere with the results of this study.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Weight losschange from baseline to an average 6 monthsBody weight in kg
Bone mineral density (BMD - hip)change from baseline to an average 6 monthsdual energy x-ray absorptiometry
Microbiotachange from baseline to an average 6 monthsstool

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Cortical bone (volumetric BMD, thickness, and porosity) and total BMDchange from baseline to an average 6 monthsperipheral quantitative computed tomography
Blood pressure (systolic and diastolic)change from baseline to an average 6 monthssphygmomanometer
Soft tissue (lean and fat mass)change from baseline to an average 6 monthsdual energy x-ray absorptiometry
Insulin - response to oral glucose tolerance testchange from baseline to an average 6 monthsfasting and response to glucose solution
Glucose - response to oral glucose tolerance testchange from baseline to an average 6 monthsfasting and response to glucose solution
Areal BMD (lumbar spine, femoral neck, radius, total body)change from baseline to an average 6 monthsdual energy x-ray absorptiometry
Trabecular bone (volumetric BMD, bone volume / total volume, and separation)change from baseline to an average 6 monthsperipheral quantitative computed tomography

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
melatoninchange from baseline to an average 6 monthsserum
Eating self-efficacychange from baseline to an average 6 monthsWeight lifestyle efficacy questionnaire short-form (0-80; higher score is better)
Circumferenceschange from baseline to an average 6 monthstape measure (waist, hip and thigh)
cortisolchange from baseline to an average 6 monthsserum
6 minute walk testchange from baseline to an average 6 monthstotal distance
Timed up and gochange from baseline to an average 6 monthstotal time
Hand Gripchange from baseline to an average 6 monthsdynanometer (isometric grip force)
Short physical performance battery (SPPB)change from baseline to an average 6 monthsTotal score of SPPB (0-12; higher score is better)
Quality of sleepchange from baseline to an average 6 monthsPittsburgh sleep quality index (0-21; higher score is worse)
Diet quality scorechange from baseline to an average 6 monthsnutrient analysis software (Healthy Eating Index 0-100; higher score is better)
25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD)change from baseline to an average 6 monthsserum
estradiolchange from baseline to an average 6 monthsserum
parathyroid hormone (PTH)change from baseline to an average 6 monthsserum
Fasting osteocalcinchange from baseline to an average 6 monthsserum bone formation and energy marker
Fasting procollagen type 1 N-terminal propeptide (PINP)change from baseline to an average 6 monthsserum bone formation marker
Fasting C-telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX)change from baseline to an average 6 monthsserum bone resorption marker
Cognitive functionchange from baseline to an average 6 monthsCambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

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