Investigating the effect of time restricted eating on sperm quality.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The effect of time restricted eating (TRE) on the sperm parameters and seminal oxidative stress of a cohort of male patients attending a fertility clinic.
IRAS ID
327685
Contact name
Jennifer Nisbett
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 7 months, 30 days
Research summary
During the past 50 years there has been a worldwide decline in male fertility, however, there has not been a subsequent increase in research or treatments available. Hence, there is an urgent need to explore anything that could improve fertility rates in men.
Time restricted eating (TRE) means that you only eat during a set time each day (usually an 8-10 hour window), and for the rest of the day can only drink water or black tea/coffee. Doing this appears to have a number of health benefits, including weight loss, better blood sugar regulation, improved levels of hormones and a healthier gut. We think that because TRE has these positive effects on the body, it might also improve sperm production, however, this has not yet been investigated.
40 male patients undergoing fertility investigations in 3 outpatient fertility clinics will volunteer to participate in this study. They will have a semen analysis to assess their semen volume, sperm count, motility, and appearance of the sperm, as well as a test to assess the oxidative stress in the semen. They will then be asked to undertake TRE for a period of 3 months, eating in an 8 hour window between 11am and 7pm. After 3 months, the sperm tests will be repeated to see whether there has been any change. Additionally, semen samples will be frozen and analysed to look for changes in composition including sugars and amino acids.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/YH/0015
Date of REC Opinion
22 Jan 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion