Is Earlier Always Better? Early Versus Later Time-Restricted Eating, Body Composition, and Exercise Performance: A Narrative Review
- 1Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima 739-8524, Japan
- 2College of Physical Education, Minnan Normal University, Zhangzhou 363000, China
Abstract
Background: Time-restricted eating (TRE) confines daily food intake to a consistent window that may occur early (eTRE) or later in the day (delayed TRE, dTRE). Whether timing differentially affects body composition and exercise performance, and whether exercise training modifies these effects, remains unclear. Methods: PubMed, Google Scholar, and reference lists were searched. Twenty-three intervention studies were narratively synthesized by timing comparison and exercise context, with study-level methodological appraisal. Results: Eight studies directly compared earlier and later windows. None favored the later window for body composition. Greater weight or fat loss with eTRE came from one crossover trial and two non-randomized comparisons, whereas the randomized parallel-group trials, including the largest, detected no difference. With structured training, TRE reduced fat mass more than training alone in four of six trials, regardless of window type; lean-mass comparisons were imprecise. No direct comparison detected timing differences in strength, muscular endurance, or aerobic outcomes, but estimates were imprecise. Greater sprint power after dTRE in one crossover trial may reflect test-day feeding, learning, or order effects. Conclusions: Earlier eating was not consistently better, but timing cannot be considered irrelevant. Trials crossing window timing with controlled energy intake and matched training are needed.
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BibTeX
@article{yu2026earlier,
title = {{Is Earlier Always Better? Early Versus Later Time-Restricted Eating, Body Composition, and Exercise Performance: A Narrative Review}},
author = {Zifu Yu and Takeshi Ueda and Pengcheng Zhou},
journal = {Nutrients},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/nu18213603},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/21/3603},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Is Earlier Always Better? Early Versus Later Time-Restricted Eating, Body Composition, and Exercise Performance: A Narrative Review
AU - Zifu Yu
AU - Takeshi Ueda
AU - Pengcheng Zhou
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - Nutrients
DO - 10.3390/nu18213603
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/21/3603
AB - Background: Time-restricted eating (TRE) confines daily food intake to a consistent window that may occur early (eTRE) or later in the day (delayed TRE, dTRE). Whether timing differentially affects body composition and exercise performance, and whether exercise training modifies these effects, remains unclear. Methods: PubMed, Google Scholar, and reference lists were searched. Twenty-three intervention studies were narratively synthesized by timing comparison and exercise context, with study-level methodological appraisal. Results: Eight studies directly compared earlier and later windows. None favored the later window for body composition. Greater weight or fat loss with eTRE came from one crossover trial and two non-randomized comparisons, whereas the randomized parallel-group trials, including the largest, detected no difference. With structured training, TRE reduced fat mass more than training alone in four of six trials, regardless of window type; lean-mass comparisons were imprecise. No direct comparison detected timing differences in strength, muscular endurance, or aerobic outcomes, but estimates were imprecise. Greater sprint power after dTRE in one crossover trial may reflect test-day feeding, learning, or order effects. Conclusions: Earlier eating was not consistently better, but timing cannot be considered irrelevant. Trials crossing window timing with controlled energy intake and matched training are needed.
SN - 2072-6643
ER -