Doing high-intensity exercise while on a time-restricted diet may just be the ticket to a healthier state, new international research has found.
A study by Tunisian, French and German researchers followed 64 women for 12 weeks who were divided into three groups.
In one group, participants followed a time-restricted diet, eating only between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Another group did high-intensity exercise, while a third group did both.
Participants in both groups who did high-intensity exercise saw improvements in blood pressure and fat-free body mass, which only really changed for the time-restricted diet group.
Meanwhile, women in the diet and exercise group generally experienced more profound changes in body composition and cardiometabolic parameters than diet or exercise alone.
While the study had a relatively small number of participants, it showed the potential of combining high-intensity exercise with time-restricted dieting, its authors said.
“Combining time-restricted eating with high-intensity functional training is a promising strategy for improving body composition and cardiometabolic health.”
