6-week time-restricted eating improves body composition, maintains exercise performance, without exacerbating eating disorder in female DanceSport dancers.

Background: Despite the high risk of eating disorder (ED)-related attitudes and behaviors among female dancers, targeted scientific dietary regimens are currently inadequate. Time-restricted eating (TRE), a popular intermittent fasting protocol, has been shown to be effective in enhancing body composition and exercise performance in athletes. In this study, TRE was employed as a dietary regimen to improve body composition and exercise performance and address ED attitudes and behaviors in DanceSport dancers.

Methods: Twenty female DanceSport dancers were recruited and divided into two groups: TRE (n = 10) and normal diet (ND) (n = 10). The TRE group consumed their self-selected necessary energy intake exclusively between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. (utilizing a 16-hour fasting and 8-hour eating window) for 6 weeks, while the ND group maintained their regular dieting patterns. The consumption of water, black tea, or coffee without added sugar or milk was not restricted. Physical activity and calorie intake were systematically recorded during the TRE intervention. Body composition, aerobic and anaerobic performance, and ED attitudes and behaviors were assessed before and after the TRE intervention. The trial was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry under the identifier ChiCTR2200063780.

Results: The fixed effects tests (p < 0.0001) and estimates for the intercept (p < 0.0001) of hunger level indicated a noticeable effect on the initial state of hunger during TRE. No significant differences were observed in ED attitudes or behaviors (p > 0.05). TRE resulted in a reduction in hip circumference (p = 0.039), fat mass (kg) (p = 0.0004), and body fat percentage (p = 0.0005), with no significant decrease in fat-free mass (p > 0.05). No significant improvement was observed in aerobic performance (p > 0.05). The average power (AP) (p = 0.01) and AP/Body weight ratio (p = 0.003) significantly increased. Additionally, the power drop decreased significantly (p = 0.019). Group-by-time interactions were observed for fat mass (kg) (p = 0.01), body fat percentage (p = 0.035), and AP/Body weight (p = 0.020).

Conclusion: TRE can be considered a feasible nutritional strategy for DanceSport dancers, facilitating improvements in body composition without compromising aerobic and anaerobic exercise performance or exacerbating ED attitudes and behaviors. Moreover, TRE may facilitate more favorable physiological adaptations, potentially contributing to improved exercise performance.