TL;DR
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In a randomized trial of 187 adults with obesity, an eight-hour eating window combined with supervised exercise led to greater weight and body-fat loss over 12 weeks than standard care. The interventions did not produce a statistically significant greater reduction in liver fat, and the short-term 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, while the groups showed no statistically significant differences in liver-fat reduction. The results, published in Nature Communications as part of the TEMPUS project, also found improved cardiorespiratory fitness in participants assigned to exercise.
Researchers assigned participants to one of four groups: standard care, intermittent fasting, supervised exercise, or both fasting and exercise. All groups received education on the Mediterranean diet and physical activity. Participants in the fasting groups ate within an eight-hour window each day; the exercise program combined supervised strength training and high-intensity aerobic exercise.
Liver fat, measured by MRI, decreased across all four groups, but the researchers found no statistically significant differences between standard care and the interventions, or among the three intervention groups. By contrast, participants in both fasting groups lost an average of about 2.2 kilograms more than the standard-care group. The combination group also lost more body fat than the standard-care and exercise-only groups. Both exercise groups improved cardiorespiratory fitness.
The study also reported subgroup findings, which the researchers cautioned against treating as definitive. Among participants who had fatty liver at the start, about 30% in the combined-intervention group no longer met the study’s diagnostic criteria at the end of the program, compared with 6.5% receiving standard care. One year after the program, however, the groups no longer differed in liver-fat change, and the end-of-program differences in weight and body composition were no longer detectable.
Short-Term Gains Did Not Persist
The findings suggest that a structured eating schedule paired with supervised training can support short-term weight and body-fat loss for adults with obesity. Exercise was also associated with better cardiorespiratory fitness, an outcome distinct from weight change and relevant to cardiovascular health.
The follow-up changes the interpretation: the measurable differences in weight and body composition were not still apparent one year after the program ended. The trial therefore does not establish that the approach produces lasting weight loss without continued support. It also did not show a greater overall reduction in liver fat than standard care, despite the weight outcomes.
For readers, the results are evidence about a specific, supervised 12-week program—not proof that fasting and exercise will produce the same results for everyone. The study does not establish an optimal eating window, the effects of unsupervised exercise, or whether the approach is suitable for people with particular health conditions.
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How the TEMPUS Trial Was Run
The TEMPUS study was led by the PROFITH CTS-977 research group at the Joint University Institute for Sport and Health at the University of Granada, with collaborators from Granada biomedical research institutions and hospitals. The trial’s primary focus was whether time-restricted eating and supervised exercise could reduce MRI-measured liver fat and improve cardiovascular health in adults with obesity.
The report described a randomized comparison across four groups, with education on diet and physical activity given to all participants. This means the findings compare the added strategies against a standard-care group that also received lifestyle education; they do not compare the interventions with no guidance or support. The study was funded through Spain’s MICIU/AEI and the European Regional Development Fund, according to the report.
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Long-Term Effects Remain Unsettled
The trial did not find a statistically significant overall advantage for liver-fat reduction, and the available results do not establish why the short-term weight and body-composition differences were no longer detectable one year later. The report does not provide enough detail to determine whether participants maintained the eating and exercise routines after the supervised program ended.
The subgroup findings also need care. The apparent liver-fat difference among men, and the proportions of participants no longer meeting fatty-liver criteria, do not by themselves establish that the program works differently by sex or treats fatty liver. The study authors said the sex analyses were not sufficient to draw that conclusion. Whether longer interventions or strategies to help people maintain the changes would lead to lasting benefits remains unknown.
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Longer Trials and Maintenance Strategies
The researchers said further work should examine longer-lasting interventions, particularly among people with high levels of liver fat, and test approaches that help participants maintain benefits after a structured program ends. The reported one-year follow-up highlights the need to track outcomes beyond the initial 12 weeks.
No specific next trial or schedule was stated in the source report. Until more evidence is available, the TEMPUS results remain a short-term finding from a supervised program, with long-term weight and liver-fat effects unresolved.
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Key Questions
What did the trial find about intermittent fasting and exercise?
In a 12-week randomized trial, the combined group had greater weight and body-fat loss than standard care. The trial did not find a statistically significant greater reduction in liver fat compared with standard care.
How many people took part?
The study included 187 adults with obesity, about half of whom were women. Participants were assigned to standard care, fasting, supervised exercise, or a combination of fasting and exercise.
How was intermittent fasting defined in this study?
Participants in the fasting groups ate within an eight-hour window each day. The report does not establish that this schedule is the best option for other people or that results would be the same outside the trial.
Did the benefits last one year?
At the one-year follow-up, the groups no longer differed in changes in liver fat, weight, or body composition as reported in the study. The source does not specify whether participants continued the program after the 12-week intervention.
Did fasting and exercise reduce liver fat more than standard care?
No statistically significant overall difference in liver-fat reduction was found between the interventions and standard care. Some subgroup results were reported, but the authors cautioned that they do not establish a different effect by sex.
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