Study suggests limiting daily eating to 8 hours may raise heart disease risk. This preliminary research on over 20,000 adults found those who followed an 8-hour time-restricted eating plan had a higher chance of dying from heart-related issues compared to those who ate within a 12-16 hour window.
A recent study presented at an American Heart Association conference suggests that people who restrict their eating to less than 8 hours a day might be at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. This research, still in its preliminary stages, involved over 20,000 adults in the United States. They found that participants who followed a time-restricted eating plan, a type of intermittent fasting, had a greater chance of dying from heart-related issues compared to those who spread their meals out over 12 to 16 hours.
Time-restricted eating involves limiting your food intake to a specific window within a 24-hour day. This window can vary from just 4 hours to 12 hours. A popular approach is the 16:8 method, where you eat all your meals within 8 hours and fast for the remaining 16 hours. Interestingly, previous studies have shown that time-restricted eating can actually improve certain heart health markers, like blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels. However, this new research suggests there might be downsides to consider, particularly for heart health if you restrict your eating window too much.