# Effects of Time-restricted Eating versus Daily Continuous Calorie Restriction on Body Weight and Colorectal Cancer Risk Markers among Adults with Obesity

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO · 2024 · $211,752

## Abstract

ABSTRACT. Approximately 42% of the U.S. adult population is obese and data suggests that persons with
obesity are at a 30% greater risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC). Therefore, efficacious approaches to
preventing and treating obesity will have significant effects on CRC incidence in the U.S. Although calorie
restriction through lifestyle intervention is the most common approach to treat obesity, clinically meaningful
weight loss is difficult to achieve via this method due to low adherence with calorie monitoring, indicating a need
for innovation. Time-restricted eating, a type of intermittent fasting, has been shown in animals to impart cancer
protective effects including lower body weight, decreased systemic inflammation, and improved glucose
metabolism. Time-restricted eating is where individuals are asked to consume all their food for the day within a
specified time frame, and water fast for the remaining hours of the day. We recently performed two short-term
(≤12-weeks) pilot studies of time-restricted eating to evaluate its safety and preliminary efficacy on body weight
and chronic disease risk markers in adults with obesity. Our results show the intervention is a safe and
acceptable approach to weight loss among obese adults. Moreover, time-restricted eating produced
approximately 3% weight loss from baseline and reductions in systolic blood pressure, oxidative stress and
insulin resistance. Although these pilot findings show promise for time-restricted eating as an effective tool for
CRC risk reduction among obese individuals, these data still require confirmation by a well powered longer-term
clinical trial. The present proposal aims to implement a 12-month (6-month active weight loss phase, 6-month
maintenance phase), controlled, parallel arm trial among 255 obese adults (45-65 years old) who are at elevated
CRC risk. Subjects will be randomized to 1 of 3 groups: 1) Time-restricted eating (weight loss phase: daily ad
libitum food intake from 11am – 7pm), 2) Calorie restriction (weight loss phase: daily 25% calorie restriction), or
3) Control (daily ad libitum food intake, no meal timing restrictions) to compare the effects on: (1) Body weight,
body composition, and intervention adherence; (2) Circulating metabolic, inflammation, and oxidative stress-
related biomarkers; (3) Colonic mucosal gene expression profiles and mucosal inflammation, DNA damage and
cellular growth; and (4) maintenance of benefits on body weight/composition and systemic/mucosal CRC risk
markers. This proposal will be led by a transdisciplinary team with expertise in nutrition science, time-restricted
eating, behavioral science, molecular markers of cancer, gastroenterology, and biostatistics. If the aims of this
proposal are achieved, it will show for the first time that time-restricted eating can be implemented as a novel
alternative to traditional dieting (i.e., daily calorie restriction) for weight control and CRC risk reduction in adults
with obesity. ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10977387
- **Project number:** 3R01CA257807-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Lisa Tussing-Humphreys
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $211,752
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-09-10 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10977387

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10977387, Effects of Time-restricted Eating versus Daily Continuous Calorie Restriction on Body Weight and Colorectal Cancer Risk Markers among Adults with Obesity (3R01CA257807-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10977387. Licensed CC0.

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