Time Restricted Eating for the Treatment of PCOS

BACKGROUND: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common cause of anovulatory infertility among young women. This syndrome is a reproductive and endocrinological disorder that affects up to 18% of reproductive-aged women. To date, the only strategy shown to reverse PCOS is sustained weight loss of 5-10%. At present, daily calorie restriction (CR) is the main diet prescribed to patients with PCOS for weight loss. However, some women find it difficult to adhere to CR because calorie intake must be vigilantly monitored every day. Considering these problems with CR, another approach that limits timing of food intake, instead of number of calories consumed, has been developed. This diet is called "time restricted eating" (TRE) and involves confining the period of food intake to 6-8 h per day. TRE allows individuals to self-select foods and eat ad libitum during a large part of the day, which can increase compliance to these protocols. Recent findings show that TRE significantly reduces body weight and insulin resistance in adults with obesity. However, no randomized controlled trials have studied the role of TRE in treating PCOS. OBJECTIVE: We conducted a 6-month, randomized, controlled trial comparing the effects of 6-h TRE (eating all food between 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm, without calorie counting), versus CR (25% energy restriction daily), and a control group (eating over a period of 10 or more hours per day), on body weight and PCOS symptoms in a racially-ethnically diverse group of females with PCOS. METHODS: A 6-month randomized, controlled, parallel-arm trial will be implemented. Females with overweight/obesity and PCOS will be randomized to 1 of 3 groups: (1) 6-h TRE (eating all food between 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm, without calorie counting); (2) CR (25% energy restriction daily); or (3) control group (eating over a period of 10 or more hours per day).