TL;DR
In a randomized trial of 187 adults with obesity, combining an eight-hour daily eating window with supervised exercise led to greater weight and body-fat loss over 12 weeks than standard care. The program did not produce a statistically significant added reduction in liver fat overall, and the weight and body-composition differences were no longer detectable one year later.
A 12-week randomized trial involving 187 adults with obesity found that combining an eight-hour daily eating window with supervised exercise led to greater weight and body-fat loss than standard care, according to results published in Nature Communications. The combination did not produce a statistically significant additional reduction in liver fat across the full study group, and the weight and body-composition differences were no longer detectable at a one-year follow-up.
The study, part of the TEMPUS project, was led by researchers at the Joint University Institute for Sport and Health at the University of Granada, in collaboration with research and clinical institutions in Spain. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups: standard care, intermittent fasting, supervised exercise, or fasting combined with exercise. All groups received guidance on the Mediterranean diet and physical activity.
Participants assigned to fasting limited their meals to an eight-hour window each day. The supervised exercise program combined strength training with high-intensity aerobic exercise. Researchers assessed liver fat using MRI, alongside weight, body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness. Liver fat fell in all four groups, but the study found no statistically significant differences between standard care and the interventions, or among the three intervention groups.
Both fasting groups lost, on average, about 2.2 kilograms more than the standard-care group. The fasting-and-exercise group also lost more body fat than the standard-care and exercise-only groups. Participants in both exercise groups improved cardiorespiratory fitness, a measure related to cardiovascular health. These findings describe outcomes during the trial; they do not establish that the program will produce the same results for every person or over longer periods.
Short-Term Weight Gains Faded
The findings suggest that combining meal timing changes with structured exercise may offer short-term benefits beyond standard lifestyle guidance for some adults with obesity. The results also show why weight loss is not the only outcome to track: exercise improved cardiorespiratory fitness, while the trial did not find a greater overall reduction in liver fat from the interventions.
The follow-up tempers the short-term results. One year after the program ended, group differences in weight and body composition were no longer detectable. The study therefore does not show that a 12-week intervention alone produces lasting weight changes. For readers and clinicians, the duration of support and approaches to maintaining changes remain important questions, rather than settled conclusions from this trial.
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How the TEMPUS Trial Was Structured
The TEMPUS study tested time-restricted eating and supervised exercise in adults with obesity, with liver fat as its primary research focus. Its four-group design allowed researchers to compare each approach with standard care and to examine the combined program. The 187 participants were approximately half women, and the intervention period lasted 12 weeks.
Researchers also examined outcomes by sex and among participants who had fatty liver at the start. In the subgroup with fatty liver, about 30% of those in the combined group no longer met the study’s diagnostic criteria at the end of the intervention, compared with 6.5% in standard care. Among men, the combined program was associated with a greater liver-fat reduction than standard care, but the researchers cautioned that the analyses do not establish different effects by sex.
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Long-Term Effects Remain Unclear
The trial did not find a statistically significant overall advantage for any intervention in reducing liver fat, despite decreases in all four groups. The subgroup findings—including the result among men and the fatty-liver classification figures—do not establish that the combined approach reduces liver disease risk or works differently by sex. The authors specifically caution that the sex-based analyses are not enough to draw that conclusion.
The study also cannot establish whether longer programs, continued support or other maintenance strategies would preserve the short-term weight and body-composition changes. At one year, differences between groups were no longer detectable for those outcomes, and there were no group differences in changes in liver fat. The supplied report does not provide further detail on adherence, adverse events or the reasons the differences faded.
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Researchers Call for Longer Follow-Up
The researchers say further work should examine longer-term interventions, particularly among people with high levels of liver fat, and test strategies that could help maintain benefits after a program ends. The published findings do not specify a timetable for another TEMPUS trial or a particular maintenance plan.
For now, the reported results are evidence about a defined 12-week program and its one-year follow-up, not a guarantee of lasting weight loss. Any application to individual care would need to account for personal health circumstances and should be discussed with a qualified health professional.
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Key Questions
What did the trial find about fasting combined with exercise?
In this 12-week trial, the combined group lost more weight and body fat than standard care, while the trial found no statistically significant additional reduction in liver fat across all participants.
How many people took part?
The randomized study included 187 adults with obesity, approximately half of whom were women.
What did intermittent fasting involve in the study?
Participants assigned to fasting concentrated their meals within an eight-hour daily window. All groups also received education on the Mediterranean diet and physical activity.
Did the observed weight differences last?
No group differences in weight or body composition were detectable one year after the program, according to the report. The study does not establish what would happen with longer treatment or ongoing maintenance support.
Does the study show that fasting and exercise reduce liver fat?
Liver fat decreased in all four groups, but the researchers found no statistically significant overall difference between the interventions and standard care. Subgroup results should not be treated as proof of a general liver-fat benefit.
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