The timing of meals may not have as big an impact on weight as once thought, according to a new study, CNN reports.

The data showed no association between an interval of the day in which people had their meals and their weight, according to the study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

The study tracked the portion sizes and eating times of 547 people, in addition to data on their health and weight, over the course of six years.

Restricting eating times, as seen in diet trends such as intermittent fasting, has been a popular method to try to lose weight in recent years.

But the researchers found no association between restricting eating times and weight loss, said principal investigator of the study Dr. Wendy Bennett, an associate professor of medicine in the division of general internal medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. That included how long people ate after waking up, how long their window of eating was throughout the day and how ...