Effects of Restricted-time and Psychochrononutritional Feeding in People With Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors, including abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, and insulin resistance, that increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The prevalence of this syndrome is rising in Mexico. Recent research suggests that when we eat is as important as what we eat. Therefore, chrononutritional strategies such as time-restricted eating (TRE), where food intake is confined to a specific daily time window, have been developed and shown promising benefits. However, there are documented barriers to maintaining this nutritional strategy over time. Therefore, this study proposes that combining TRE with a psychochrononutritional program (integrating psychological, chronobiological, and nutritional components) will improve adherence to the nutritional strategy and lead to better health outcomes than only prescribing a specific eating window.

To this end, 64 adults (18-60 years old) with metabolic syndrome will be recruited in Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco, Mexico. The TRE intervention will last eight weeks and include two groups. One group will undergo a psychochrononutritional intervention, whereas the other will receive only instructions regarding the eating window. Within each group, two subgroups will be formed: one assigned to an 8-hour eating window, and the other to a 10-hour window. Before and after the intervention, anthropometric, biochemical (lipid profile and plasma glucose), clinical (blood pressure), and dietary assessments will be performed. We expect reductions in blood pressure, glucose, triglycerides, and waist circumference as well as better adherence in the psychochrononutritional intervention group.