Eating late-night meals may contribute to weight gain and blood sugar, according to a small study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Over 2.1 billion are estimated to be the number of overweight or obese adults worldwide, making health problems such as diabetes and high blood pressure more likely. Some studies show that eating calories late in the day is associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome.
“This study adds new insight into how eating late meals worsens glucose tolerance and reduces the amount of fat burned.
The effects of evening meals vary considerably between people and depend on usual bedtime, suggesting that some people may be more vulnerable than others.
If the metabolic effects we observed with one meal become chronic, evening meals could lead to consequences such as diabetes or obesity,” explains study author Dr. Jonathan C. Jun of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
The researchers studied 20 healthy volunteers (10 men and 10 women) to determine how they metabolized dinner eaten after 10 p.m. compared to that of 6 p.m.
All volunteers went to bed at 11pm.
So the researchers found that blood sugar levels were higher and the amount of fat burned was less in the case of the evening meal, even when both The same foods were consumed in both cases.
“On average, the upper glucose level after the evening meal was almost 18% higher and the amount of fat burned during the night was reduced by 10% compared to eating an evening, last meal for the day.
The effects we observed in healthy volunteers may be more significant in people suffering from obesity or diabetes, who already have an impaired metabolism,” explains the study’s first author, Dr. Chenjuan Gu.
This is not the first study to show the effects of late-night eating, but it is one of the most detailed. Participants wore activity counters, underwent blood sampling every hour they were in the lab, participated in sleep studies and body fat and fat burning (oxidation) rate tests.
“We need to do more experiments to determine whether these effects continue over time and whether they are caused more by behavior (such as sleeping immediately after eating a meal) or by the body’s circadian rhythm,” concludes Dr. Jun.
What is certain, however, according to the researchers, is that the earlier we eat our dinner and the further away from bedtime, the less we are at risk of an increase in body fat as well as blood sugar.
