Effects of Time Restricted Feeding and Meal Timing on An 8-Week Aerobic Exercise Training Programme on Psychological Parameters—A Randomised Controlled Trial

Exercise and short-term fasting may have positive effects on psychological health. The aim of this study was to investigate effects of combining daily time restricted feeding and aerobic exercise on longer-term psychological health parameters. Fifty-two participants were randomised into three groups. (1) Training sessions were performed in the fasted state. (2) Training sessions were performed after consuming a standardised carbohydrate-based snack. (3) Exercise training with an ad libitum diet as a control group. The 8-week intervention consisted of daily time restricted feeding (16/8h) for both fasting groups and 3x/week à 60-min aerobic training (∼73% of maximal heartrate) for all groups. Data were collected during pre- and post-test using psychological questionnaires. A 3x2 mixed ANOVA with repeated measures was used to analyse pre to post differences. Thirty-six participants were included in the analyses. No group-by-time interactions were found in any of the investigated parameters, suggesting that fasting groups showed similar effects as the control group. Significant main effects indicate increases in the positive subdomain of the Positive and Negative Affective Scale (p = 0.033; η²_p0.130) and the subdomain vital body dynamics of the Body Image Questionnaire (p = 0.002; η²_p 0.022) over all groups. No significant main effects were observed in quality of life, eating behaviour, and mood. Data suggest that combining daily time restricted feeding and aerobic exercise similarly effects quality of life, mood, affect, as well as eating behaviour compared to exercise alone. Different combinations may be considered as a safe dietary option in conjunction with personal preferences.