Are You Hurting Yourself by Eating Later in the Day?

Overweight person standing on weight scaleIn the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, a leading medical researcher was quoted as stating that much of what we think we know about weight loss is actually not backed up by hard scientific evidence. While his article has made somewhat of a stir in the medical community, it failed to address a question that is asked all too often: Are our waistlines really affected by when we decide to eat, or all calories worth the same no matter what time you consume them.

For anyone who has experimented with dieting, they are probably all too familiar with the long-held notion that eating late is not the best idea. Still, this principle has never really been the key focus in any weight loss clinical trial with human participants. To date, most studies have hinted that there is a potential link between eating late at night and weight gain, but then again they have also shown that these late eaters tend to consume more calories on a daily basis.

A New Weight Loss Study in Spain

This was the driving force behind a new weight loss clinical study conducted by a team of researchers from Harvard working collaboratively with another team in Spain. These researchers followed a group of 420 overweight men and women as they participated in a 20 week long weight loss program, and their results have since been published in The International Journal of Obesity.

The participants for this obesity clinical trial were divided into two separate groups. In order to obtain the best results, the research team made sure that all participants adhered to a similar diet, got an equivalent level of sleep, and consumed/burned a similar amount of calories on a daily basis. Lead investigators also noted that the participants showed no significant difference in two hormones (leptin and ghrelin) that have a key impact on appetite.

Divided by the Timing of Large Meal

The measurable difference between these two groups of overweight participants was the time at which they would eat their largest meal of the day. Given the Mediterranean setting, the main meal of the day for this weight loss clinical study was lunch. For both groups, their main meal accounted for about 40 percent of their daily caloric intake. Again, the one difference was that one group would always eat this meal before 3 p.m. every day, and the other one always ate theirs after 3 p.m.

By the end of the clinical trial period, the group of participants who ate their meal later in the day had lost a significantly lower amount of weight. In addition, the research team noted that this group of participants also showed a lower insulin sensitivity, which will increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Diet Should Focus on Calorie Intake and Meal Timing

Given what this weight loss study has shown them, this team of researchers wrote that an effective diet should not only focus on the calories and nutrients one is consuming, but also the time at which you are eating your main meal for the day. While it may not be the most important thing, this has certainly proved that this idea has a role to play in weight loss.