Effects of a Time Restricted Eating Protocol on Cyclists (TRECYC) (TRECYC)

Effects of 4 Weeks of Time Restricted Eating Protocol on Performance, Metabolism and Blood Outcomes in Elite Cyclists

We sought to investigate the effects of 4 weeks of 16/8 time restricted eating (TRE) with windows of 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of eating) on elite cyclists' performance, metabolic and blood parameters.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Fasting and Performance
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Time restricted eating; Other: Control

Detailed Description

Sixteen elite under-23 cyclists were randomly assigned to a TRE group or to a control group (CTRL) with a traditional meal pattern. The TRE group consumed 100% of its estimated daily energy needs in an 8-hour time window: from 10:00 AM (ante meridiem) to 6:00 PM (post meridiem) whilst the CTRL group consumed 100% of its estimated daily energy needs in 3 meals between 7:00 AM and 9:00 PM. During the experimental period, training loads were similar in the two groups. Athletes were tested before and after 4 weeks of the intervention. Body composition , basal metabolism, performances indexes and blood parameters were measured.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 16
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Italy
  • Padova, Italy, 35131
    • Nutrition and Exercise Lab, DSB, University of Padova

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 24 years (ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Male

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• elite under 23 cyclists male

Exclusion Criteria:

• adherence to special diets
• use of nutritional supplements (except a daily multivitamin-mineral and/or protein supplement)
• use of medications

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: SINGLE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Time restricted eating (TRE); TRE group consumed 100% of its estimated daily energy needs in an 8-hour time window: from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM	Other: Time restricted eating; TRE group consumed 100% of its estimated daily energy needs in an 8-hour time window: from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM; Other Names: TRE
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Control (CTRL); CTRL group consumed 100% of its estimated daily energy needs in 3 meals between 7:00 AM and 9:00 PM	Other: Control; CTRL group consumed 100% of its estimated daily energy needs in 3 meals between 7:00 AM and 9:00 PM; Other Names: CTRL

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
VO2max	Maximal oxygen consumption (in ml O2/Kg/min) measured during a cycloergometer incremental test through a gas analyses	4 weeks
fat mass	fat mass measured through body impedence analyser	4 weeks
lean body mass	lean body mass mass measured through body impedence analyser	4 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
white blood cells	white blood cells as thousands per microliter	4 weeks
Eosinophils	Eosinophils as percentage of total white blood cells	4 weeks
Monocytes	Monocytes as percentage of total white blood cells	4 weeks
Basophiles	Basophiles s percentage of total white blood cells	4 weeks
Hematocrit	Hematocrit as percentage	4 weeks
Haemoglobin	Haemoglobin as gram per Liter	4 weeks
Mean cell volume	mean cell volume as femtonLiter	4 weeks
mean cell haemoglobin	mean cell haemoglobin as picograms	4 weeks
ESR (Erythrocyte sedimentation rate )	ESR as millimeters per hour	4 weeks
CRP (C-reactive protein)	CRP as milligram per deciliter	4 weeks
Total cholesterol	Total cholesterol as milligram per deciliter	4 weeks
TG (triglycerides)	TG as milligram per deciliter	4 weeks
glucose	glucose as milligram per deciliter	4 weeks
creatinine	creatinine as milligram per deciliter	4 weeks
creatin kinase	creatin kinase as milligram per deciliter	4 weeks
iron	iron as microgram per deciliter	4 weeks
ferritin	ferritin as microgram per liter	4 weeks
transferrin	ferritin as milligram per deciliter	4 weeks
TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone)	TSH as micro international unit per milliliter	4 weeks
T3 (triiodothyronine) free	T3 free as picogram per milliliter	4 weeks
Testosterone free	Testosterone free as picogram per milliliter	4 weeks
IL-6	IL-6 as picogram per milliliter	4 weeks
TNFalfa	TNFalfa as picogram per milliliter	4 weeks
IGF-1	IGF-1 as nanogram per milliliter	4 weeks
Insulin	Insulin micro international unit per milliliter	4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Padova
• Collaborators: University of Palermo; University of Pavia

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Paoli A, Tinsley G, Bianco A, Moro T. The Influence of Meal Frequency and Timing on Health in Humans: The Role of Fasting. Nutrients. 2019 Mar 28;11(4):719. doi: 10.3390/nu11040719.
• Moro T, Tinsley G, Bianco A, Marcolin G, Pacelli QF, Battaglia G, Palma A, Gentil P, Neri M, Paoli A. Effects of eight weeks of time-restricted feeding (16/8) on basal metabolism, maximal strength, body composition, inflammation, and cardiovascular risk factors in resistance-trained males. J Transl Med. 2016 Oct 13;14(1):290. doi: 10.1186/s12967-016-1044-0.
• Tinsley GM, Forsse JS, Butler NK, Paoli A, Bane AA, La Bounty PM, Morgan GB, Grandjean PW. Time-restricted feeding in young men performing resistance training: A randomized controlled trial. Eur J Sport Sci. 2017 Mar;17(2):200-207. doi: 10.1080/17461391.2016.1223173. Epub 2016 Aug 22.
• Tinsley GM, Moore ML, Graybeal AJ, Paoli A, Kim Y, Gonzales JU, Harry JR, VanDusseldorp TA, Kennedy DN, Cruz MR. Time-restricted feeding plus resistance training in active females: a randomized trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2019 Sep 1;110(3):628-640. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqz126.
• Moro T, Tinsley G, Longo G, Grigoletto D, Bianco A, Ferraris C, Guglielmetti M, Veneto A, Tagliabue A, Marcolin G, Paoli A. Time-restricted eating effects on performance, immune function, and body composition in elite cyclists: a randomized controlled trial. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2020 Dec 11;17(1):65. doi: 10.1186/s12970-020-00396-z.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): January 6, 2018
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): March 30, 2018
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): May 15, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 19, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 21, 2020
• First Posted (ACTUAL): March 25, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): March 25, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 21, 2020
• Last Verified: March 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: fasting, cyclists, athletes, time restricted eating, performance, body composition.
• Other Study ID Numbers: AP1019

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No