Temporal Eating Patterns and Metabolic Health (TIME-MET)

Obesity and its related health problem, like fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes, are major health problems worldwide and can lead to serious illness and reduced quality of life. Most advice focuses on eating fewer calories and increasing physical activity, but new research suggests that when we eat may also matter. Late meals can disrupt blood sugar control, how the body processes fat, and hormone balance. However, we still do not fully understand how meal timing affects people who may be more at-risk. For example new mothers face disrupted sleep, which can lead to eating later in the day. People with fatty liver disease may have eating patterns that unintentionally worsen their condition.

To explore this, we are inviting the following two groups;

1. First-time mothers in early motherhood, and women who do not have children.
2. People with fatty liver disease along with people of similar age, sex, and weight who do not have the condition.

Our aim is to compare meal timing habits between these groups. All participants will complete a 3-day diet diary and a questionnaire about eating habits, sleep, lifestyle, and daily routines. Some participants may opt to complete an optional body composition check using a mobile app. A smaller subset of volunteers will take part in additional assessment, including a fasting blood sample, basic measurements (such as height, weight, and waist size), a body scan to measure fat and muscle. They will also wear a small device to track their blood sugar and another to monitor sleep and activity for 14 days. This study will help us better understand how eating patterns and daily routines differ in these groups, and may help improve future advice on healthy lifestyles.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Early Motherhood; MASLD (Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease)

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 400

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Maria Chondronikola, PhD, MS, MPH, RDN; Phone Number: +44-1223-746784; Email: mc2425@medschl.cam.ac.edu

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Cambridgeshire
    • Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, CB2 0SL
      • Cambridge Clinical Research Centre
      • Contact: Krishna Chatterjee; Phone Number: +44-1223-254800; Email: tdw30@medschl.cam.ac.uk
      • Principal Investigator: Maria Chondronikola, PhD, MS, MPH, RDN

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Adults with Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) and women in early motherhood, recruited alongside matched control groups, from the NIHR BioResource cohort and community recruitment channels in the Cambridgeshire region, UK. A subset of participants will be recruited through the Institute of Metabolic Science at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, for optional in-person assessments.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

General (applied to all participants)

• Willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the study and perform study assessments
• Access to a smartphone or computer to complete digital questionnaires and dietary logs.

MASLD Cohort

• Age 18-80
• Confirmed self-reported MASLD diagnosis, irrespective of disease stage (cases)
• Control group: Absence of confirmed MASLD diagnosis

Early Motherhood Cohort

• Age 18-50
• Women in early motherhood, defined as up to 12 months of their first successful childbirth delivery at enrolment
• Control group: Women who have never given birth

Exclusion Criteria:

Adult participants may not enter the study if ANY of the following apply:

• Self-reported active disease involving major organ dysfunction (except from Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Cardiovascular Disease for MASLD cohort)
• Current smoking, heavy alcohol consumption (AUDIT score greater than 8 will be classified as heavy alcohol consumption), or recreational drug use
• Current use of appetite-suppressant, appetite-stimulants, or weight-modifying pharmacotherapy (e.g., GLP-1 agonists, antidepressants, GIP agonists)
• Recent unintentional rapid weight loss greater than 5% of body weight within the past 2 months, not attributable to recent pregnancy or intentional postpartum weight loss.
• Current shift workers, defined as individuals working regular evening, night, rotating, or irregular schedules that disrupt standard sleep-wake cycles.
• Currently pregnant or >1 year women after childbirth
• Participants who cannot consent for themselves.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

4

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Women in early motherhood; Women aged 18-50, within one year of their first birth, enrolled to examine temporal eating patterns and metabolic health in early motherhood.
Adults with MASLD; Adults aged 18-80 with a confirmed self-reported diagnosis of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD), irrespective of disease stage, enrolled to examine the role of temporal eating patterns and metabolic health.
Adults without MASLD; Adults aged 18-80 without a confirmed MASLD diagnosis, matched to cases by age, sex, and body weight, enrolled to examine temporal eating patterns and metabolic health.
Nulliparous Women; Nulliparous women aged 18-50 with no history of childbirth, matched to postpartum participants by age and body weight, enrolled to examine temporal eating patterns and metabolic health.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Eating window duration across study groups	Characterisation and comparison of eating window duration between individuals with and without MASLD, and women in early motherhood compared to nulliparous women, derived from a 3-day dietary log completed via Intake24 over 3 non-consecutive days.	Single time point assessment over 3 non-consecutive days during study participation.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Caloric midpoint time across study groups	Characterise and compare the time at which 50% of the total daily caloric intake has been consumed between individuals with and without MASLD, and women in early motherhood compared to nulliparous women, derived from a 3-day dietary log completed via Intake24 over 3 non-consecutive days.	Single time point assessment over 3 non-consecutive days during study participation.

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Meal frequency across study groups	Characterise and compare the number of eating occasions per day between individuals with and without MASLD, and women in early motherhood compared to nulliparous women, derived from a 3-day dietary log completed via Intake24 over 3 non-consecutive days.	Single time point assessment over 3 non-consecutive days during study participation.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Maria Chondronikola
• Collaborators: Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): June 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2029
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2029

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 2, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 2, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): June 5, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 5, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 2, 2026
• Last Verified: June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: cross-sectional; metabolic health; chrononutrition; MASLD; Metabolic dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease; temporal eating patterns; Early Motherhood
• Other Study ID Numbers: University of Cambridge

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

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