Time Restricted Eating, Eating Behaviors, and Cardiometabolic Risk in Emerging Adult Women

June 25, 2026 updated by: Carly R Pacanowski, University of Delaware
The purpose of this study is to assess how time restricted eating interventions impact eating behaviors, diet quality, and body composition in women ages 20-29 years. Participants will be asked to limit all food and drinks (except water and some non-caloric beverages) to a 10-hour period during the day for four weeks. Participants 1-36 will follow their usual eating and activity patterns for one week before starting, and follow whatever eating pattern they want for 4 weeks after finishing. Participants 37-51 will follow their usual eating and activity patterns for one week before starting, and will not complete a follow up period.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
51

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Delaware
      • Newark, Delaware, United States, 19711
        • University of Delaware

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Able to speak and read English
  • Own a smartphone
  • BMI ≥ 20 kg/m2
  • Usual eating window ≥ 12 hours with the last eating occasion after 8pm on the majority of days
  • Have at least a moderate baseline level of dietary restraint

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Shift workers
  • Being pregnant, nursing, or planning to become pregnant in the next 6 months
  • Having a past or current eating disorder diagnosis
  • Having a chronic medical condition (including diabetes, heart, kidney, or thyroid disease) or a condition that requires therapeutic diet or specified meal timing

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Time Restricted Eating
Participants will limit their eating (all food and caloric beverages) to an eating window of 10 hours per day for 4 weeks. The eating window must end by 8pm. Water and non-caloric beverages are allowed outside of the eating window. No other changes are required to the types or total amount of food eaten.
Behavioral: Time restricted eating
Limit food intake to 10 hours per day as described in the experimental arm section.
Other Names:
  • Time restricted feeding
  • Intermittent fasting
  • Meal timing

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Emotional Eating
Time Frame: Participants 1-36: 3 time points: baseline, end of 4-week intervention, end of 4-week follow up Participants 37-51: 2 time points: baseline, end of 4-week intervention
Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire: Emotional Eating Subscale. This subscale is scored from 1-5, with higher scores indicating higher emotional eating.
Participants 1-36: 3 time points: baseline, end of 4-week intervention, end of 4-week follow up Participants 37-51: 2 time points: baseline, end of 4-week intervention
External Eating
Time Frame: Participants 1-36: 3 time points: baseline, end of 4-week intervention, end of 4-week follow up Participants 37-51: 2 time points: baseline, end of 4-week intervention
Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire: External Eating Subscale. This subscale is scored from 1-5, with higher scores indicating higher external eating.
Participants 1-36: 3 time points: baseline, end of 4-week intervention, end of 4-week follow up Participants 37-51: 2 time points: baseline, end of 4-week intervention
Eating in the Absence of Hunger
Time Frame: Participants 1-36: Baseline week, weeks 1 and 4 of intervention, weeks 1 and 4 of follow up Participants 37-51: Baseline week, weeks 1 and 4 of intervention
Assessed through surveys sent 5x/day asking about if food was eaten and why.
Participants 1-36: Baseline week, weeks 1 and 4 of intervention, weeks 1 and 4 of follow up Participants 37-51: Baseline week, weeks 1 and 4 of intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Diet Quality
Time Frame: Participants 1-36: 3 time points: baseline, end of 4-week intervention, end of 4-week follow up Participants 37-51: 2 time points: baseline, end of 4-week intervention
Healthy Eating Index, calculated from 3-day food records. The Healthy Eating Index is scored from 0-100, with higher scores indicating higher diet quality.
Participants 1-36: 3 time points: baseline, end of 4-week intervention, end of 4-week follow up Participants 37-51: 2 time points: baseline, end of 4-week intervention
Body composition (total percent body fat)
Time Frame: Baseline and end of 4-week intervention (participants 1-36 only)
Percent body fat measured by DXA
Baseline and end of 4-week intervention (participants 1-36 only)
Body composition (visceral fat)
Time Frame: Baseline and end of 4-week intervention (participants 1-36 only)
Visceral fat measured by DXA
Baseline and end of 4-week intervention (participants 1-36 only)
Body weight
Time Frame: Participants 1-36: 3 time points: baseline, end of 4-week intervention, end of 4-week follow up Participants 37-51: 2 time points: baseline, end of 4-week intervention
Total body weight
Participants 1-36: 3 time points: baseline, end of 4-week intervention, end of 4-week follow up Participants 37-51: 2 time points: baseline, end of 4-week intervention
Continuous Glucose Monitoring
Time Frame: First 10 days of study, last 7 days of intervention period (added for participants 37-51, optional for participants 29-36)
Participants will wear a Dexcom continuous glucose monitor
First 10 days of study, last 7 days of intervention period (added for participants 37-51, optional for participants 29-36)

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Participant experience
Time Frame: End of 9-week study (following 1-week baseline, 4-week intervention, and 4-week follow up, participants 1-36 only)
Qualitative interview to glean information on participants' subjective experience of the intervention
End of 9-week study (following 1-week baseline, 4-week intervention, and 4-week follow up, participants 1-36 only)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Delaware

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Carly Pacanowski, PhD, University of Delaware

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 30, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
October 10, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
October 10, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 17, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 17, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
November 22, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 30, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 25, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2089190-1

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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