✨new research alert ✨

Previous research has shown that eating late at night increases obesity risk and body fat, while making it more difficult to lose weight.

Now in a new study, investigators at Brigham and Women’s Hospital set out to find out WHY.

16 individuals with obesity or overweight completed 2 protocols: one with a strict early eating schedule, and the second eating the exact same meals but 4 hours later in the day.

Here’s what happened:

⬇️ Leptin levels dropped in the late eating condition. That’s the hormone that makes people feel full, so those who ate late felt hungrier.

⬇️ Calories were burned at a slower rate during the late eating compared with early eating.

⬆️ Expression of genes in fat tissue shifted toward promoting fat storage during the late eating.

The takeaway?

WHEN you eat does matter (contrary to popular belief), and it may be especially problematic to eat late at night.

Drop a comment if you pay attention to the time of day you eat ⤵️

Reference

Nina Vujović et al. Late isocaloric eating increases hunger, decreases energy expenditure, and modifies metabolic pathways in adults with overweight and obesity. CellMetabolism, 2022. [link]