4. Discussion
obesity, Obesity, mood disorders, weight reduction, depression, weight loss
OBESITY, OBESITY
To our knowledge, this is the first study to compare the effects of TRE (without calorie counting) versus daily CR on mood and quality of life in adults with obesity. Our results indicate that 12 months of TRE and CR have no effect on mood or quality of life in this population group, relative to no-intervention controls.Obesity is associated with a higher risk of mood disorders and depression [While several studies have examined the impact of CR on mood, only two studies [In view of these previous findings, it would appear as though at least 6% weight loss is needed to see changes in mood. Since our TRE and CR participants only achieved approximately 5% weight loss, it is possible that the degree of weight reduction was not large enough to see changes in mood scores.While the exact mechanism linking depression and obesity remains unclear, it is likely that the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, also known as the reward center of the brain, plays a major role [Individuals with obesity have also been shown to have lower quality of life [Findings from the present trial suggest that TRE and CR do not significantly impact quality of life in adults with obesity. Our data differ from previous reports, which generally show that TRE and CR have mild positive effects on quality of life. For instance, Carson et al. [Our study has several limitations. First, our sample size was small (