Associations Between Eating Windows and Health Outcomes in Children and Adolescents from the ALSPAC Cohort

Time-limited eating (TLE) improves body weight and metabolic health in adults; however, little is known about effects in younger populations (YP). TLE in adolescents can reduce calorie consumption, but studies have not demonstrated superior weight loss compared to other dietary practices. Minimal research exists into associations between eating window (EW) in YP and health outcomes.

Three-day diet diaries (ages 7, 13 years) collected in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) were used to calculate EW. Height, weight, body composition, blood pressure, and fasting bloods were recorded during clinic visits at ages 7, 13, and 24. Linear or logistic regression models were used to analyse cross-sectional and longitudinal associations, accounting for potential confounders.

Mean EW was 10.9 h (standard deviation 1.1) and 11.1 h (1.8) at ages 7 and 13, respectively. At age 7 (N = 4799), a longer EW was positively associated with body mass index z-score (BMIz) (beta coefficient (β) 0.04 (95% confidence interval 0.01, 0.07) p = 0.01), whilst at age 13 (N = 4712) a longer EW showed inverse associations with BMIz (β -0.026 (-0.046, -0.006) p = 0.01), waist to height ratio (WtHR) (β -0.001 (-0.002, -0.000) p = 0.005), waist circumference (WC) (cm) (β -0.211 (-0.370, -0.053) p = 0.009), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (mmHg) (β -0.132 (-0.254, -0.009) p = 0.04), and fat mass (FM) (%) (β -0.447 (-0.607, -0.286) p < 0.001). Longitudinally, a longer EW at age 13 (N = 2534) was inversely associated with FM (%) at age 24 (β -0.307 (-0.487, -0.127) p < 0.001).

A longer EW in adolescence was associated cross-sectionally with lower BMIz, WtHR, WC, DBP, and FM and longitudinally with lower FM at age 24, albeit with small effect sizes.