Eating At The ‘Wrong Time’ Comes With Dietary Consequences

Pexels

It looks like the folks behind intermittent fasting may be onto something. New research from UT Southwestern Medical Center reinforces the idea that there are right and wrong times to eat our meals, and that the timing of our food consumption (not just what we eat) can play a critical role in weight loss efforts.

In the study performed on lab mice, the medical researchers used a new, high-precision feeding system and sensors to see how the nocturnal mammals responded to a calorie-restricted diet depending on their meal times throughout the day. The group of mice that only ate during its normal feeding/active cycle was the only group (among five groups tested) to lose weight. Even the group of mice that ate the exact same amount as this successful group, but ate during their resting cycle failed to lose weight.

“Translated into human behavior, these studies suggest that dieting will only be effective if calories are consumed during the daytime when we are awake and active,” study co-author Dr. Joseph S. Takahashi said in a statement. “They further suggest that eating at the wrong time at night will not lead to weight loss even when dieting.”

Pexels

The researchers noticed that the group of mice that lost weight by eating during its active time only ate in a brief time window even though food was available constantly, meaning the mice naturally chose the intermittent fasting route. They were also more active during their typical rest period, suggesting that their metabolisms were revving at a higher rate than other mice tested even when they weren’t consuming food. These findings reveal a closer connection between feeding time, metabolic efficiency and behavior than observed in previous studies.

So while we obviously aren’t exactly the equivalent of mice, it’s worth thinking about how chowing down on late-night snacks impacts your sleep quality, weight management ability and eating habits the following day. We’d be willing to bet that this eating pattern isn’t doing you any favors and that you’d be better off enjoying meals during parts of the day when your body is already up and moving.