Abstract Body (Do not enter title and authors here): Hypothesis: The concurrent implementation of time restricted eating (TRE) and a Mindfulness intervention yields superior outcomes in cardiovascular disease risk markers and stress response when compared with each intervention individually and control.
Methods: We conducted an 8-week randomized controlled parallel arm pilot study evaluating TRE (ad libitum eating between 12-8pm) and Mindfulness (“Mindfulness for Beginners” from Calm.com®) among young adults (18-39 years old) with obesity (BMI ≥ 30 and ≤ 49.9 kg/m²) and a Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) ≥14 indicating moderate to severe perceived stress. Individuals were randomized to the following: TRE; Mindfulness; TRE & Mindfulness; or Control. We explored changes in body weight, body composition, cardiovascular disease risk markers and stress.
Results: Forty-three participants were randomized. Participants in the TRE group lost a mean -0.38 (95% CI -2.49, 1.73) kg; Mindfulness group lost a mean -2.10 (95% CI -5.21,1.02) kg; TRE & Mindfulness group lost mean -1.89 (95% CI -4.32, 0.55) kg; and Control group lost a mean of -0.0.9 (95% CI -1.15,0.98) kg from baseline to post-intervention. The Mindfulness group showed the largest decrease in body fat mass (-2.20; 95% CI -4.64, 0.23 kg) while the TRE & Mindfulness group demonstrated the largest decrease in visceral fat mass (-315.4; 95% CI -965.13, 334.33 g). For cardiovascular disease risk markers, the TRE & Mindfulness group presented the largest decrease in diastolic blood pressure (-3.20; 95% CI -8.77, 2.37 mmHg) and a statistically significant decrease in heart rate (-1.93; 95% CI -3.70, -0.16 beats/min). For estimated heart rate variability (Root Mean Square of Successive Differences - RMSSD), all intervention arms demonstrated an increase in RMSSD, which is indicative of increased cardiac vagal tone, with the Mindfulness arm presenting the highest mean change from baseline (mean 7.61; 95% CI -1.5, 16.71 milliseconds). PSS scores decreased significantly within all arms except for Control. There was a statistically significant decrease in high sensitivity C-reactive protein from baseline to post-intervention in the TRE arm only (-1.58; 95% CI: -3.08, -0.09 mg/L).
Conclusion: Results from this pilot study indicated a potential positive combined effect of TRE & Mindfulness for improving anthropometric and cardiovascular disease risk markers measures among young adults with obesity and moderate to severe perceived stress compared to either intervention alone.