People who want to lose weight have known for years that it is a good idea to avoid late-night snacking. This is no surprise, as a lot of research has shown that it works. Late-night diningIncreased risk of obesity and body weight are linked.
However, very few studies have examined why late-night eating can lead to a higher body weight. This is why there are Recent US studySet out to discover.
Researchers found that eating four hours earlier than usual actually altered many physiological and molecular mechanisms that promote weight gain.
This work complements other recently completed works Published workIt has been shown that eating earlier in a day can be more beneficial for your appetite and weight control.
Late dinner
The researchers asked 16 participants to follow two meal plans for their study. Each one lasted six days.
Participants were instructed to eat breakfast early in the morning and have their last meal approximately 60 minutes before bed.
Participants had to eat all their meals about four hours later under the second protocol. Participants ate lunch, dinner, and an evening meal instead of breakfast. They ate their last meal just two and a quarter hours before going to bed.
The experiment was done in a controlled laboratory, which meant that the participants were fed an identical diet. Each meal was evenly spaced and lasted around four hours.
The researchers looked at three measures that are related to weight gain in order to understand the effects of late eating on the body.
- The influence of appetite
- The effect of eating time on energy expenditure (calories burnt)
- Molecular changes in fat tissue
Two techniques were used to measure appetite. Participants were asked to rate their hunger throughout the day.
The second technique was by collecting blood samples to look at the levels of appetite-regulating hormones in participants’ blood – such as leptin (which helps us feel full) and ghrelin (which makes us feel hungry).
The hormones were measured hourly for 24 hours during each trial’s third and sixth days.
Indirect calorimetry was employed to assess the impact of meal timing on daily energy consumption. This method measures both the amount and amount of oxygen that a person consumes, as well as the amount of carbon dioxide that they produce.
This helps researchers calculate how many calories a person uses in a day.
Researchers performed a biopsy from fat tissue taken from the abdomen in order to examine the effects of late-night eating on the body’s fat storage. This was only half the agreement of participants.
The team found that compared to an early eating pattern, late eating not only increased subjective feelings of hunger the following day, it also increased the ratio of “hunger” hormones in the blood – despite participants eating an identical diet in both protocols.
The number of calories burned on the next day also decreased when late eating is involved. Late eating was also found to lead to molecular changes in fat tissue that promoted fat storage.
These results together indicate that weight gain can be caused by late eating.
Potential for weight loss
Although we aren’t able to fully understand the reasons why late-night eating can lead to weight gain, this study suggests that many factors work together.
Our circadian rhythm could explain why late-night eating can cause weight gain. The body’s natural circadian rhythm is controlled by the brain. This regulates the normal ebb-and-flow of hormones. It is particularly sensitive to sunlight and food intake.
The circadian rhythm of humans is directly linked to when we eat and when we sleep.
Late eating can disrupt the body’s natural circadian rhythm. This could cause disruptions in the body’s hunger signals, as well as the way it stores calories and uses calories. This link was only shown in Studies on animalsSo far.
The new study was limited in scope and conducted over a short period of time. More research is needed to determine if these changes are temporary and how long-term late-night eating can affect these weight gains mechanisms.
However, other studies have shown that those who eat later in the evening tend to gain weight faster.
There are also large-scale studies that examine the relationship between these two. Energy balance can be affected by meal timing disturbances(such as skipping breakfast or late-night eating shift workThese patterns of eating have been associated with higher body weight and increased risk of metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure. Diabetes).
This study is the latest in a growing number of studies that show how important proper meal timing is when it comes to body fat.
This study and others have proven that people who are trying to lose weight should eat most of their meals early in the morning, rather than snacking late at night.
Alex JohnstoneThe Rowett Institute Personal Chair in Nutrition University of Aberdeen
This article was republished by The ConversationUse the Creative Commons license Please read the Original article.
