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Evidence in adults indicates time-restricted eating (TRE) can promote weight loss, yet rigorous trial evidence in children is limited. This study evaluates a 12-hour TRE strategy versus CRD on BMI-Z reduction short term and adherence.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/","Healthcare",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/study-protocol-for-a-randomized-clinical-trial-to-reduce-weight-among-youth-with-obesity-using-time-restricted-eating-the-treco-study/457481/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/study-protocol-for-a-randomized-clinical-trial-to-reduce-weight-among-youth-with-obesity-using-time-restricted-eating-the-treco-study/457481.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Jasmine","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-09-30",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",7,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What intervention does the TRECO study evaluate for children with obesity?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"It compares a 12-hour time-restricted eating (TRE) approach with a calorie-restricted diet (CRD). 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The intervention is extended to 48 weeks to test long-term effects and adherence.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},457481,1790791576,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,109,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},40,"healthcare",{"id":110,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":55,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":123,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},2336478487870,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_085a072bc5b1113ac321206ff7593b45","Shi et al. BMC Pediatrics (2026) 26:21 BMC Pediatrics  \n[https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-025-06298-w](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-025-06298-w)  \nSTUDY PROTOCOL Open Access  \nStudy protocol for a randomized clinical trial  to reduce weight among youth with obesity using time-restricted eating: the TRECO study  \nXiaoyan Shi 1†, Peien Jiang2†, Penghao Wang2†, Xingwei Guo2, Mengxuan Ye3, Zhiying Jiang3, Yan Chen3,  \nTingjuan Fan 1, Guanghui Mao 1, Chang Zhou2, Lu Zhao3, Mingzhi Zhang2, Lei Wu4, Jian Wang5* and Hao Peng2,6*  \nAbstract  \nBackground Childhood obesity is a major metabolic disorder affecting approximately 20% of children and adolescents. Because around 80% of obese adolescents will still be obese in adulthood, action to reduce obesity in children and adolescents is needed. Although a caloric-restricted diet (CRD) is the primary treatment for obesity, adherence to CRD typically declines over time, and many individuals who lose weight with this strategy regain it. Accumulating evidence suggests that time-restricted eating (TRE) has a significant impact on weight loss in adults with obesity. However, the weight-loss effect of TRE on childhood obesity remains largely lacking in trial evidence, due to the significant differences in metabolic states and eating behavior plasticity between children and adults. Methods We will conduct an open-label, blinded-endpoint, parallel design, randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy of 12-hour TRE on weight loss in children with obesity compared to CRD. A total of 128 patients  \nwith childhood obesity (8–17 years old, BMI-Z value > 2) will be enrolled and allocated into two arms by block randomization stratified by sex and age. Standardized lifestyle counseling will be provided for all participants to enhance physical activity and healthy eating habits. Based on the standardized lifestyle counseling, 12-hour TRE and CRD will be administered to the experimental and control groups, respectively. The short-term effect will be evaluated after 12 weeks of intervention by comparing the magnitude of BMI-Z reduction from baseline between the two groups. The intervention will be extended to 48 weeks to test the long-term effect and adherence.  \nDiscussion In theTRE program, participants only need to consider the timing of meal s and the duration of fasting. Available evidence suggests that the earlier dinner ends, the better, but the duration of fasting is not as long as it should be, and the longer it is, the worse compliance may be. Although several trials have been conducted to examine the weight loss effects of 14-and 16-hour TRE in childhood obesity, no study has been designed regarding 12-hour TRE, while 12-hour fasting is relatively more acceptable in children.  \n†Xiaoyan Shi, Peien Jiang and Penghao Wang contributed equally to this work.  \n*Correspondence:  \nJian Wang [wj196312@vip.163.com](wj196312@vip.163.com)[ ](wj196312@vip.163.com)Hao Peng [penghao@suda.edu.cn](penghao@suda.edu.cn)  \nFull list of author information is available at the end of the article  \n© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from","cbCaiezFgypP79qC","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiezFgypP79qC","pdf",1204065,"English","# Abstract\n## Background\n## Methods\n## Discussion\n# Contributions to the literature\n# Keywords\n# Background","[{\"question\":\"What intervention does the TRECO study evaluate for children with obesity?\",\"answer\":\"It compares a 12-hour time-restricted eating (TRE) approach with a calorie-restricted diet (CRD). Both groups receive standardized lifestyle counseling, with TRE focusing on meal timing and fasting duration.\"},{\"question\":\"How are participants allocated and how many are planned for the trial?\",\"answer\":\"A total of 128 participants aged 8–17 years with obesity are enrolled. They are randomized into two arms using block randomization stratified by sex and age.\"},{\"question\":\"What outcomes are assessed to judge the short-term and long-term effects?\",\"answer\":\"The short-term effect is evaluated after 12 weeks by comparing baseline-to-change in BMI-Z between groups. The intervention is extended to 48 weeks to test long-term effects and adherence.\"}]","Study protocol for a randomized clinical trial to reduce weight among youth with obesity using time-restricted eating: the TRECO study | PDF",1790749467,25]