Time restricted eating: A novel dietary strategy to improve metabolic health outcomes in menopause

For women, menopause increases their risk of developing cardiovascular (CV) disease. This life-stage is associated with increased adiposity, weight gain and harmful changes to blood glucose. Menopause is also characterised by sleep disturbances which impacts motivation to undertake physical activity and causes disruption to the 24 hr body clock. Regardless of strong observational data showing menopause as a period of accelerated CV risk, behavioural interventions are inadequately represented in this group. Intermittent approaches to diet (such as time restricted eating) whereby timing of dietary intake is aligned to an individual’s body clock are associated with improvements in CV risk factors. Whereas intermittent activity (where activity is undertaken as small ‘snacks’ of exercise’) has high acceptability and adherence. This study will co-design a personalised intervention in post-menopausal women that examines feasibility of, and acceptability to, Time Restricted Eating and Exercise Snacking (the TREES study). We aim to show that timing of lifestyle behaviours’ is an effective, prevention-based approach to manage CVD risk in women experiencing menopause. The study is supported by the National Heart Foundation. Successful applicants will have a qualification in nutrition and will work as part of a team.