NCT05921487

Time Restricted Eating to Mitigate Obesity in Veterans With Spinal Cord Injury

• Status: Enrolling By Invitation
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 15 (estimated)
• Sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development · Federal
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 89 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes paralysis and muscle atrophy and leads to weight gain and obesity. Obesity directly contributes to functional impairment and cardiometabolic dysfunction. There is a critical need to reduce the growing prevalence of obesity and cardiometabolic disease after SCI. My overall objective in this project is to gather crucial feasibility data on time restricted eating (TRE), a novel form of intermittent fasting. TRE is a straightforward method to induce weight loss without the need for calorie counting. TRE allows individuals to eat all their daily calories in a time restricted window and fast outside that window. A growing body of literature supports the safety and efficacy of TRE. Given the feasibility, high adherence, and substantial benefits of TRE in able-bodied individuals, it is important to test TRE to determine its feasibility in Veterans with SCI. The investigators will first test this intervention in Veterans with paraplegia, who are at greatest risk of muscle-joint upper body injury given the need to support body weight during activity. The investigators will determine adherence to a TRE window for 6-weeks duration in a convenience sample of Veterans with paraplegia and obesity. Based on the expected outcomes of good adherence, this study will lay the groundwork for future work by informing the design of a randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of TRE to facilitate weight loss and improve function.

Conditions

• Spinal Cord Injury
• Obesity

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Time Restricted Eating	Time Restricted Eating Protocol: Subjects will be instructed to limit caloric consumption to a 10-hour TRE window. The window start-time will be self-selected (individualized). During the eating window, subjects will not be restricted on types or quantities of food consumed, and will be advised to continue their usual diets. Subjects will not be required to monitor their caloric intake. During the fasting period, subjects will be encouraged to stay hydrated and drink ample water. Outside the designated eating window, subjects are only permitted to consume medication, water, or zero-calorie herbal drinks such as unsweetened tea or black coffee.

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-09-01
• Primary completion: 2026-06-01
• Completion: 2026-09-30
• First posted: 2023-06-27
• Last updated: 2025-07-03

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States