September 14, 2009 | Health & Medicine

Midnight Snack: The Enemy of Your Weight Loss Plans

It’s not just what you eat that matters, it’s when you eat it. This according to a new study from Northwestern University that proves a long-standing theory that late-night eating is more likely to cause weight gain than daytime meals.

Personal trainers and other weight loss gurus have long advocated not eating after 6 or 7 pm if you want to drop some pounds. However no one was sure if this was just because people tend to binge or indulge in unhealthy snacks under the cover of darkness (those midnight bowls of ice cream in front of the television that don’t count because no one else sees them).

To determine whether it was timing or content that contributes to weight gain, scientists fed two groups of mice the same diet, and allowed them the same amount of exercise, but fed them at different times. One group was given food during their normal waking hours, the other during the time that mice usually sleep. Since mice are nocturnal these hours are the opposite of human sleep cycles. They found that the mice who ate during their waking hours increased in body weight by 20%, while the mice who ate during their sleeping hours suffered a 48% increase in body weight.

The next step is to repeat the test on humans to see if the results are similar. The findings could have significant implications for our eating habits. Many people eat late at night after their busy day is over, possibly contributing to obesity and other health problems.

AUTHOR: Kristina Canizares

2 Responses to “Midnight Snack: The Enemy of Your Weight Loss Plans”

Posted by Linda Hibbard on September 15th, 2009 at 6:36 AM

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Posted by Tatiana on September 16th, 2009 at 2:12 AM

The main reason to not eat in the evening is simply that the majority of us sleep through the night and the food is not burned off as it might be during active, waking hours. The test could be performed on individuals who are sedentary all during the day and those who are moderately active during the day to achieve more revealing results.

Tatiana
Health and Wellness Coach
founder, owner
BodyVision SL