A small clinical trial suggests that when people eat may matter for Crohn’s disease, not just what they eat.
In the study, published in Gastroenterology, adults with Crohn’s disease who limited their eating to an eight-hour window each day saw greater improvements in symptoms and inflammation over 12 weeks than those who followed their usual eating schedule.
Researchers enrolled 35 adults with Crohn’s disease who also had overweight or obesity. About half were assigned to time-restricted eating, meaning all meals were eaten within an eight-hour window each day, while the rest continued eating as they normally would. Both groups ate similar foods and similar amounts, allowing the researchers to focus on meal timing rather than calorie intake or diet quality.
By the end of the study, people in the time-restricted eating group had about a 40% reduction in Crohn’s disease activity and reported less abdominal discomfort compared with the control group. Blood tests also showed lower levels of several markers linked to inflammation and metabolic stress.
Weight changes differed between the groups as well. Participants following time-restricted eating lost an average of about 5.5 pounds, while those in the control group gained weight. Imaging data suggested that people in the time-restricted eating group also lost more visceral fat, a type of fat associated with inflammation and metabolic risk.
Importantly, the researchers found that these improvements were not explained by differences in calories or food choices. That suggests the timing of meals itself may influence immune and metabolic processes involved in Crohn’s disease, though the study was not designed to pinpoint exactly how.
The authors stress that the findings are preliminary. The trial was small and short-term, and larger studies are needed to determine whether time-restricted eating is safe, effective, and sustainable for long-term Crohn’s disease management. They also emphasize that people with inflammatory bowel disease should talk with their health care team before changing eating patterns.
This study was funded by the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation through its Litwin IBD Pioneers program, with additional support from the University of Calgary’s Imagine Network.