For those with metabolic syndrome, the necessary lifestyle and weight changes can be challenging
ISLAMABAD (Pakistan Point News / Online - 30th December, 2019) For those with metabolic syndrome, the necessary lifestyle and weight changes can be challenging. Now, a study has shown that eating within a certain time window can help tackle that.Share on PinterestNew research shows how intermittent fasting can help ease metabolic syndrome.Metabolic syndrome is an umbrella term for a number of risk factors for serious conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
These risk factors include obesity and high blood pressure, among others.This is no small issue in the United States, where one-third of adults have metabolic syndrome. In fact, the condition affects around 50% of people aged 60 and over.Obesity is also prevalent, affecting around 39.8% of adults in the U.S. Obesity is closely linked to metabolic syndrome.Receiving a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome offers a critical window of opportunity for making committed lifestyle changes before conditions such as diabetes set in.
However, making the necessary long-term lifestyle changes to improve one's health outlook is not always easy. Such changes include losing weight, managing stress, being as active as possible, and quitting smoking.For the first time, a new study has looked into time-restricted eating, or intermittent fasting, as a means of losing weight and managing blood sugar and blood pressure for people with metabolic syndrome.This new study, which appears in the journal Cell Metabolism, is set apart from previous studies that looked at the health and weight loss benefits of time-restricted eating in mice and healthy people.
"[People] who have metabolic syndrome/prediabetes are often told to make lifestyle interventions to prevent progression of their risk factors to [...] disease," said co-corresponding study author Dr. Pam Taub, of the University of California San Diego school of Medicine."These [people] are at a crucial tipping point, where their disease process can be reversed.""However, many of these lifestyle changes are difficult to make. We saw there was an unmet need in [people] with metabolic syndrome to come up with lifestyle strategies that could be easily implemented.
"Clinical testing of time-restricted eatingArmed with the knowledge that time-restricted eating and intermittent fasting had been effective in treating and reversing metabolic syndrome in mice, the researchers set out to test these findings in a clinical setting.Weight loss and better sleep"As they started to adhere to this eating window, they started feeling better with more energy and better sleep, and this was positive reinforcement for them to continue with this 10-hour eating window," said Dr.
Taub.Almost all the participants ate breakfast later (around 2 hours after waking) and dinner earlier (around 3 hours before bed).The study lasted for 3 months, during which time the participants showed a 3% weight and body mass index (BMI) reduction, on average, and a 3% loss of abdominal, or visceral, fat."All of these improvements reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease," said Dr. Taub.Also, many participants showed a reduction in blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as improvements in fasting glucose.
They also reported having more energy, and 70% reported an increase in the amount of time they slept or experienced sleep satisfaction.The participants said that the plan was easier to follow than counting calories or exercising, and more than two-thirds kept it up for around a year after the study ended.Dr. Taub recommends that anyone interested in trying time-restricted eating speak to their healthcare provider first, especially if they have metabolic syndrome and are taking medication, as weight loss may mean that medications require adjustment.
