Effectiveness of Time-Restricted Eating on Glycemic Control in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31004/joecy.v6i1.8975Keywords:
Glycemic Control, HbA1c, Randomized Controlled Trial, Time-Restricted Eating, Type 2 DiabetesAbstract
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) poses a global health challenge due to hyperglycemia from insulin resistance and β-cell dysfunction, with poor glycemic control increasing complication risks. Traditional calorie-restricted diets often face adherence issues, prompting exploration of time-restricted eating (TRE). This systematic review without meta-analysis aimed to evaluate TRE's effectiveness on glycemic outcomes in T2DM adults from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Databases including PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrials.gov, and WHO ICTRP were searched (2015-2025) using keywords like "time-restricted eating" and "HbA1c." Ten RCTs met inclusion criteria (adults with T2DM, TRE <12-hour window, glycemic outcomes). Results showed HbA1c reductions of 0.3-1.54% in medium- to long-term trials, alongside improvements in fasting glucose, 24-hour glucose variability via continuous glucose monitoring, moderate weight loss (1.2-4%), high adherence, and safety comparable to calorie restriction. In conclusion, TRE offers a feasible, effective alternative for T2DM glycemic management, though larger standardized trials are needed.
References
Andriessen, C., Fealy, C. E., Veelen, A., Sten, &, Van Beek, M. M., Roumans, K. H. M., Connell, N. J., Mevenkamp, J., Moonen-Kornips, E., Havekes, B., Schrauwen-Hinderling, V. B., Hoeks, J., Schrauwen, P., & Nl, S. (2022). Three weeks of time-restricted eating improves glucose homeostasis in adults with type 2 diabetes but does not improve insulin sensitivity: a randomised crossover trial. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-022-05752-z/Published
Bruno, J., Walker, J. M., Nasserifar, S., Upadhyay, D., Ronning, A., Vanegas, S. M., Popp, C. J., Barua, S., & Alemán, J. O. (2024). Weight-neutral early time-restricted eating improves glycemic variation and time in range without changes in inflammatory markers. IScience, 27(12). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.111501
Charrouf, R., Parr, E. B., Hutchison, A. T., Flint, S. A., Teong, X. T., Wittert, G., Vincent, A. D., Brennan, L., Devlin, B. L., Hawley, J. A., & Heilbronn, L. K. (2024). Effect of time restricted eating versus current practice in dietetics on glycaemic control and cardio-metabolic outcomes in individuals at risk of developing type 2 diabetes: Protocol for a multi-centre, parallel group, non-inferiority, randomised controlled trial. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cct.2024.107696
Che, T., Yan, C., Tian, D., Zhang, X., Liu, X., & Wu, Z. (2021). Time-restricted feeding improves blood glucose and insulin sensitivity in overweight patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomised controlled trial. Nutrition and Metabolism, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12986-021-00613-9
Guo, L., Xi, Y., Jin, W., Yuan, H., Qin, G., Chen, S., Zhang, L., Liu, Y., Cheng, X., Liu, W., & Yu, D. (2024). A 5:2 Intermittent Fasting Meal Replacement Diet and Glycemic Control for Adults with Diabetes: The EARLY Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Network Open, 7(6), e2416786. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.16786
Hegedus, E., Vu, M. H., Salvy, S. J., Bakhsh, J., Goran, M. I., Raymond, J. K., Espinoza, J. C., & Vidmar, A. P. (2024). Randomized Controlled Feasibility Trial of Late 8-Hour Time-Restricted Eating for Adolescents With Type 2 Diabetes. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 124(8), 1014–1028. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2023.10.012
Hutchison, A. T., Regmi, P., Manoogian, E. N. C., Fleischer, J. G., Wittert, G. A., Panda, S., & Heilbronn, L. K. (2019). Time-Restricted Feeding Improves Glucose Tolerance in Men at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Crossover Trial. Obesity, 27(5), 724–732. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.22449
Mena-Hernández, D. R., Jiménez-Domínguez, G., Méndez, J. D., Olvera-Hernández, V., Martínez-López, M. C., Guzmán-Priego, C. G., Reyes-López, Z., Ramos-García, M., Juárez-Rojop, I. E., Zavaleta-Toledo, S. S., & Ble-Castillo, J. L. (2024). Effect of Early Time-Restricted Eating on Metabolic Markers and Body Composition in Individuals with Overweight or Obesity. Nutrients, 16(14). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16142187
Naguib, M. N., Hegedus, E., Raymond, J. K., Goran, M. I., Salvy, S. J., Wee, C. P., Durazo-Arvizu, R., Moss, L., & Vidmar, A. P. (2022). Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Adolescents With Obesity: Monitoring of Glucose Profiles, Glycemic Excursions, and Adherence to Time Restricted Eating Programs. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2022.841838
Parr, E. B., Devlin, B. L., Lim, K. H. C., Moresi, L. N. Z., Geils, C., Brennan, L., & Hawley, J. A. (2020). Time-restricted eating as a nutrition strategy for individuals with type 2 diabetes: A feasibility study. Nutrients, 12(11), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12113228
Parr, E. B., Radford, B. E., Hall, R. C., Steventon-Lorenzen, N., Flint, S. A., Siviour, Z., Plessas, C., Halson, S. L., Brennan, L., Kouw, I. W. K., Johnston, R. D., Devlin, B. L., & Hawley, J. A. (2024). Comparing the effects of time-restricted eating on glycaemic control in people with type 2 diabetes with standard dietetic practice: A randomised controlled trial. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diabres.2024.111893
Parr, E. B., Steventon-Lorenzen, N., Johnston, R., Maniar, N., Devlin, B. L., Lim, K. H. C., & Hawley, J. A. (2023). Time-restricted eating improves measures of daily glycaemic control in people with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diabres.2023.110569
Pavlou, V., Cienfuegos, S., Ezpeleta, M., Mulas, A., Varady, K., & Lin, S. (2023). OR14-01-23 Effect of 8-Hour Time Restricted Eating Versus Daily Calorie Restriction on Body Weight and Glycemic Control in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes. Current Developments in Nutrition, 7, 101560. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2023.101560
Pavlou, V., Cienfuegos, S., Lin, S., Ezpeleta, M., Ready, K., Corapi, S., Wu, J., Lopez, J., Gabel, K., Tussing-Humphreys, L., Oddo, V. M., Alexandria, S. J., Sanchez, J., Unterman, T., Chow, L. S., Vidmar, A. P., & Varady, K. A. (2023). Effect of Time-Restricted Eating on Weight Loss in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Network Open, 6(10), E2339337. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.39337
Quist, J. S., Pedersen, H. E., Jensen, M. M., Clemmensen, K. K. B., Bjerre, N., Ekblond, T. S., Uldal, S., Størling, J., Wewer Albrechtsen, N. J., Holst, J. J., Torekov, S. S., Nyeland, M. E., Vistisen, D., Jørgensen, M. E., Panda, S., Brock, C., Finlayson, G., Blond, M. B., & Færch, K. (2024). Effects of 3 months of 10-h per-day time-restricted eating and 3 months of follow-up on bodyweight and cardiometabolic health in Danish individuals at high risk of type 2 diabetes: the RESET single-centre, parallel, superiority, open-label, randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Healthy Longevity, 5(5), e314–e325. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2666-7568(24)00028-X
Rizvi, Z. A., Saleem, J., Zeb, I., Shahzad, R., Kayani, J. A., Faryal, J., Bukhari, G. M. J., Abdi, G., & Jain, M. (2024). Effects of intermittent fasting on body composition, clinical health markers and memory status in the adult population: a single-blind randomised controlled trial. Nutrition Journal, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12937-024-01046-9
Steger, F. L., Donnelly, J. E., Montgomery, R. N., Clark, L., Martin, C. K., Miles, J. M., Grdinovac, K., Henderson, A. E., & Thyfault, J. P. (2025). Rationale and protocol for a randomized parallel intervention trial of two intermittent fasting approaches in patients with type 2 diabetes. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cct.2025.108118
Sukkriang, N., & Buranapin, S. (2024). Effect of intermittent fasting 16:8 and 14:10 compared with control-group on weight reduction and metabolic outcomes in obesity with type 2 diabetes patients: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Diabetes Investigation, 15(9), 1297–1305. https://doi.org/10.1111/jdi.14186
Termannsen, A. D., Varming, A., Bjerre, N., Wodschow, H. Z., Hansen, G. S., Jensen, N. J., Persson, F., Bagger, J. I., Panda, S., Finlayson, G., Ewers, B., Hansen, D. L., Nørgaard, K., Rungby, J., Grunnet, L. G., Blond, M. B., Hempler, N. F., Færch, K., & Quist, J. S. (2025). Protocol for a 1-year randomised, controlled, parallel group, open-label trial on the effects and feasibility of time-restricted eating in individuals with type 2 diabetes- The REStricted Eating Time in the treatment of type 2 diabetes (RESET2) trial. Diabetic Medicine, 42(5). https://doi.org/10.1111/dme.15506
Tricò, D., Masoni, M. C., Baldi, S., Cimbalo, N., Sacchetta, L., Scozzaro, M. T., Nesti, G., Mengozzi, A., Nesti, L., Chiriacò, M., & Natali, A. (2024). Early time-restricted carbohydrate consumption vs conventional dieting in type 2 diabetes: a randomised controlled trial. Diabetologia, 67(2), 263–274. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-023-06045-9
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Pintauli Golda Samosir, Reinhard Sadrakh Sinabutar

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.







