Eating out of phase with daily circadian rhythms induces metabolic desynchrony in peripheral metabolic organs and may increase chronic disease risk. Timerestricted eating (TRE) is a dietary approach that consolidates all calorie intake to 6-to 10-h periods during the active phase of the day, without necessarily altering diet quality and quantity. TRE reduces body weight, improves glucose tolerance, protects from hepatosteatosis, increases metabolic flexibility, reduces atherogenic lipids and blood pressure, and improves gut function and cardiometabolic health in preclinical studies. This review discusses the importance of meal timing on the circadian system, the metabolic health benefits of TRE in preclinical models and humans, the possible mechanisms of action, the challenges we face in implementing TRE in humans, and the possible consequences of delaying initiation of TRE.
REGULATION OF CENTRAL AND PERIPHERAL CLOCK MACHINERYCircadian rhythms are ubiquitous periodic oscillations in internal biological process that direct behavior and metabolism such as hormonal signaling, body temperature, nutrient absorption, and metabolism (Dongen 2017;Espelund et al., 2005;Panda et al., 2002;Reppert and Weaver, 2002). At the molecular level, circadian rhythms arise from tightly controlled autonomous interlocked genetic transcriptional feedback loop that involves circadian locomotor output cycles kaput (clock) and brain and muscle ARNT like protein 1 (bmal1) as positive transcriptional factors for period (per1, per2, per3) and cryptochrome (cry1, cry2) genes (extensively reviewed in Hastings et al., 2018). The translation products of per and cry dimerize and act as negative regulators by inhibiting clock and bmal1. An additional feedback loop involves the transcriptional regulation of bmal1 by retinoic acid related orphan receptor (rora) and nuclear receptor subfamily 1, group D, member 1(rev-erba). One cycle of this feedback loop takes ~24 h and is the basis of circadian rhythms in many organisms. The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is considered the master regulator of circadian rhythms and is primarily entrained by the light-dark cycle. This feedback loop also operates in