Obesity and Metabolism
Featured research project
No active Obesity and Metabolism research projects.Completed research projects
Recent research shows that erratic and poor timing of meals is a contributing factor to chronic disease risk, including T2DM. This means that when we eat could be as - or more - important as what we eat for metabolic health.
Our work suggests that time restricted eating (TRE), whereby individuals are simply instructed to confine all energy intake to 8-10 hours per day, is a practical intervention that reduces glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and the glucose and insulin responses to meals in people with obesity and/or T2DM, at least in the short-term.
Importantly, TRE improved insulin sensitivity, blood pressure and oxidative stress, even without weight loss. This multi-centre randomised clinical trial will be the first world-wide to determine the longer-term effects of TRE on glucose control and cardio-metabolic health at three and 12 months follow up.
This research was led by Professor Leonie Heilbronn and funded by the Medical Research Future Fund.
Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease are an increasing problem in Australia and around the world, and are partly linked to increased rates of obesity, together with sedentary lifestyles.
Calorie restricted diets are effective for improving health, but can be difficult to follow long term. We are interested in finding out whether combining restricting what we eat, with restricting when we eat, might have additional benefits.
This study recruited participants to compare diets that restrict the amount of food that is eaten, with diets that also restrict the time that food is eaten, on risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases over 2 months.
This research was led by Professor Leonie Heilbronn and funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council.
SAHMRI is located on Kaurna Country. We pay respects to the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We are committed to embracing knowledge and culture as we continue our working journey to incorporate Aboriginal health research across all of our themes and further reconciliation.
Read more"Tirki nguta tappa tangka marninithi"
(Learning and knowledge are the pathway to alter the mind)
- Uncle Lewis Yerloburka O’Brien, Kaurna Elder
