http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141202123735.htm

According to this study, it is not only about what you eat but the time that you eat it.  They experimented with several groups of mice, allowing them to eat all they wanted of certain foods within 9-, 12-, and 15- hour windows.  They also changed certain macronutrients that the mice had access to: just fat, fat and sugar, and just sugar.  They found that, regardless of macronutrients, the mice that ate in the time-restricted windows lost more weight and saw an improvement in body composition than those that did not.

This is significant for people who might have late night jobs or other life challenges that keep them up late.  The conductors of the study also used mice of all weights and sizes.  This is relevant because, “They found that the benefits of time-restricted feeding showed up regardless of the weight of the mouse, type of diet and length of the time restriction (to some degree).”  In addition to this, the researchers gave a group of mice two free respite days on the weekend in which they could consume however much fat they wanted.  These mice showed the same results and weight improvement as the mice that continued the time-restricted feeding seven days out of the week.  Although this study was done with mice, it is still worth calling attention to if the goal is weight loss or weight maintenance.