TL;DR
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In a 12-week randomized trial of 187 adults with obesity, time-restricted eating combined with supervised exercise led to greater weight and body-fat loss than standard care. The interventions did not produce a statistically significant advantage in liver-fat reduction, and weight and body-composition differences were no longer detectable one year later.
A 12-week randomized trial of 187 adults with obesity found that combining an eight-hour daily eating window with supervised exercise led to greater weight and body-fat loss than standard care, while producing no statistically significant additional reduction in liver fat. The findings, published in Nature Communications by researchers led by the University of Granada, also showed that weight and body-composition differences were no longer detectable one year after the program ended.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups: standard care, time-restricted eating, supervised exercise, or both fasting and exercise. Everyone received education on the Mediterranean diet and physical activity. Those in the fasting groups ate within an eight-hour window each day; exercise participants followed supervised sessions combining strength training and high-intensity aerobic exercise.
The trial’s primary aim was to test whether the approaches reduced liver fat measured by MRI and improved cardiovascular health. Liver fat fell in all four groups, but the researchers found no statistically significant differences between any intervention and standard care, or between the three intervention groups. The two fasting groups lost, on average, about 2.2 kilograms more than the standard-care group. Combining fasting and exercise also produced greater body-fat loss than standard care and exercise alone.
Both groups assigned to exercise improved cardiorespiratory fitness, a measure related to cardiovascular health. The study did not find a corresponding extra reduction in liver fat for the combined approach across the full trial population. These outcomes show that changes in body weight, body fat, fitness and liver fat did not all follow the same pattern.
Weight Benefits Did Not Persist
The findings suggest that time-restricted eating may add to short-term weight loss when used alongside exercise, but they do not show that the combination reduces liver fat more than standard care over 12 weeks. That distinction matters because liver fat was the trial’s primary focus, while weight and body composition were other measured outcomes.
The one-year follow-up puts the short-term results in perspective. Researchers reported that the differences in weight and body composition had disappeared by then, and there were no between-group differences in liver-fat change. The study therefore does not establish that a 12-week program provides lasting weight loss, nor does it establish the best way to maintain any initial changes.
For readers, the trial offers evidence about a structured program, not a guarantee that the same results will occur for everyone. Its participants received dietary education and supervised exercise, so the findings may not directly describe unsupervised routines or people with different health circumstances. The results also do not show that fasting and exercise prevent or treat liver disease.
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How the TEMPUS Trial Worked
The study was conducted as part of the TEMPUS project by a team led by the PROFITH research group at the University of Granada’s Joint University Institute for Sport and Health. Collaborators included the Granada Institute for Biomedical Research, two Granada university hospitals, and Spanish biomedical research networks focused on obesity and healthy aging. The trial included 187 adults with obesity, approximately half of them women.
Researchers also examined outcomes in men and women. Among men, the combined fasting-and-exercise group had a greater reduction in liver fat than the standard-care group; the same additional difference was not observed among women. Co-lead author Alba Camacho Cardeñosa cautioned that these analyses do not establish that the intervention works differently by sex. The study was funded by Spain’s MICIU/AEI and the European Regional Development Fund.
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Limits of the Results
The results do not establish why the weight and body-fat differences faded or which strategies might help people maintain them. The supplied report does not provide detailed adherence figures, participant-level results, or enough information to determine how representative the trial group was of adults with obesity more broadly.
The sex-specific liver-fat finding is also uncertain: the reported difference among men was not seen among women, but the researchers said the analyses do not support a conclusion that the intervention works differently by sex. Likewise, about 30% of participants with fatty liver at baseline in the combined group no longer met the study’s diagnostic criteria, compared with 6.5% in standard care. That subgroup result does not overturn the overall finding of no statistically significant difference in liver-fat reduction between trial groups.
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Longer Trials and Maintenance
The researchers say further studies should examine longer interventions, particularly among people with high liver-fat levels, and test approaches designed to help maintain benefits after a program ends. The TEMPUS report provides a one-year follow-up, but the supplied material does not identify a next study date or a specific maintenance program.
Until further evidence is available, the trial’s clearest conclusion is limited to its measured outcomes and time frame: the combined program improved short-term weight and body-fat results compared with some groups, exercise improved fitness, and the study did not detect a lasting difference between groups at one year.
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Key Questions
What did the trial find about intermittent fasting and exercise?
In a 12-week trial, people assigned to time-restricted eating plus supervised exercise lost more weight and body fat than those receiving standard care. The study did not find a statistically significant added reduction in liver fat compared with standard care.
How was intermittent fasting defined in the study?
Participants in the fasting groups ate within an eight-hour window each day. All groups also received education on the Mediterranean diet and physical activity.
Did the weight-loss differences last?
No group differences in weight or body composition were detectable one year after the program ended, according to the report. The researchers called for more work on maintaining benefits.
Did the combination reduce liver fat more than standard care?
Not across the full trial population: liver fat decreased in every group, but researchers found no statistically significant between-group differences. A subgroup result among men was reported, but the authors said it does not prove different effects by sex.
Does this study show the program is suitable for everyone?
No. The trial studied a specific group of adults with obesity in a structured 12-week program, including supervised exercise and dietary education. It does not establish that the same outcomes apply to everyone or provide individual medical guidance.
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