Time-restricted eating as a gerotherapeutic strategy: Circadian nutrition and healthy longevity

Abstract

Time-restricted eating (TRE), a form of intermittent fasting that limits food intake within a consistent daily window, has gained attention as a feasible strategy to promote metabolic health and align eating with circadian rhythms. Aging and obesity share overlapping pathophysiological mechanisms, including increased visceral adipose tissue (VAT), chronic inflammation, and circadian disruption, which accelerate cardiometabolic decline and multimorbidity. In this Perspective, we examine TRE within a geroscience framework, integrating evidence from human trials and preclinical models to evaluate its potential relevance for aging-related processes. We discuss how the timing of food intake influences VAT distribution and glucose regulation, with early TRE schedules showing particular promise for enhancing nocturnal glycemic control and reducing abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue. Drawing on circadian biology and caloric restriction literature, we highlight mechanistic insights linking feeding-fasting cycles to autophagy, nutrient sensing, and longevity. We also consider emerging evidence of sex-specific responses to TRE, which may inform personalized approaches. However, most clinical studies remain short-term and focus on cardiometabolic risk markers rather than validated measures of biological aging or functional outcomes. We therefore emphasize the need to distinguish between demonstrated metabolic benefits and proposed gerotherapeutic effects, and argue that future trials should incorporate biomarkers of biological age, circadian robustness, and physiological resilience. TRE represents a low-cost, scalable, and behaviorally simple intervention that could complement existing strategies in geromedicine to extend healthspan and delay age-related decline.

Keywords

Time-restricted eating / visceral adipose tissue / circadian nutrition

Acknowledgements

This work is part of a doctoral thesis conducted in the Official Doctoral Program in Biomedicine of the University of Granada, Spain. We used ChatGPT-4 to improve the readability and grammatical accuracy of the manuscript. No AI tools were used for data generation, analysis, or interpretation of results. The authors take full responsibility for the integrity, originality, and accuracy of the work. This research was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The contributions of the NIH authors are considered Works of the United States Government. The findings and conclusions presented in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NIH or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Authors contribution

Dote-Montero M, Clavero-Jimeno A: Conceptualization, project administration, writing-original draft, writing-review & editing.

de Cabo R, Labayen I: Writing-review & editing.

Ruiz JR: Conceptualization, writing-original draft, funding acquisition, supervision, writing-review & editing.

Conflicts of interest

Rafael de Cabo serves as an Editorial Board Member of Geromedicine. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

Not applicable.

Consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Availability of data and materials

Not applicable.

Funding

This study is funded by the MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ERDF, EU (Grant PID2022.141506OB.I00) to J.R.R.; Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Transformación económica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades (A-CTS-516-UGR20) to J.R.R.; Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Project reference PI24/01360, co-funded by the European Union (FEDER y FSE+) to I.L.; the Government of Navarra, Departamento de Desarrollo Economico y Empresarial (0011-1365-2021-00070), Plan de Promoción de Grupos de Investigación de la Universidad Pública de Navarra to I.L.; Spanish Ministry of Universities (FPU18/03357 to M.D.-M. and FPU21/01161 to A.C.-J.).

Copyright

© The Author(s) 2026.

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