A common perception around meal timing and human health is that it’s best to steer clear of late-night dinners and midnight snacking, and a new study has offered some compelling insights into the reasons why. The study compared late-night eating to a regular eating schedule and found some marked differences in terms of obesity risk, revealing effects on appetite, formation of fat tissue and energy expenditure throughout the day.

Led by scientists at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the new study sought to comprehensively examine some of the bodily effects of late-night eating. Some interesting studies have shed light on the relationship between meal-timing and human health, including some that highlight the anti-aging potential of daytime eating, and one last month that showed how a big breakfast can help suppress appetite in obese subjects.

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In bringing their expertise to the topic, the authors of the new study were focused on three key factors in body weight: calorie intake, calories burnt and molecular changes in fat tissue.

Read more: New Atlas