A new clinical trial suggests that time-restricted eating may offer cognitive benefits for older women beyond weight loss.
The study, involving 47 women aged 50 to 79 with overweight or obesity, found that those who confined their daily eating window to eight to nine hours performed better on tests of spatial planning and problem solving.
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All participants followed a six-month weight loss program that reduced daily calorie intake by 500 calories.
Among them, 26 women followed a time-restricted eating schedule, while the others ate over a period of about 12 hours.
Both groups lost approximately 15 pounds after six months.
However, the time-restricted group showed greater improvements in cognitive tasks related to spatial planning and problem solving compared to the group with a 12-hour eating window.
Additional Cognitive Gains
“Losing weight alone will ward off some of the aging-related cognitive decline, and these data suggest that there may be additional benefits if you stop eating 4 hours prior to going to sleep and reduce food intake to 8-9 hours per day,” said Sue Shapses, PhD, RD, DFASN, professor at Rutgers University and the study's Principal Investigator.
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Women in the time-restricted group also tended to make fewer errors on memory and learning tests, though the difference was not statistically significant.
No group differences were observed in reaction time or multitasking tests.
Shapses noted, “There was a modest effect of time-restricted eating to improve spatial planning and problem-solving and on reducing errors related to memory and learning.
These outcomes suggest a better ability to remember information during everyday tasks and reducing mistakes related to memory, attention and problem-solving.”
The researchers emphasized the trial’s small size and called for larger studies to confirm the cognitive benefits and explore underlying mechanisms, such as circadian rhythm, inflammation, and metabolic health.
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The findings were presented at NUTRITION 2026, the American Society for Nutrition’s annual meeting held July 25-28 in National Harbor, Maryland.
