Whether you hope to lose weight or just stay healthy, what you eat is a crucial factor. The right nutrients can not only trim your waistline, but also provide energy, improve your mood, and stave off disease. Now a Tel Aviv University researcher has found that it’s not just what you eat — but when.
Metabolism is impacted by the body’s circadian rhythm — the biological process that the body follows over a 24 hour cycle. So the time of day we eat can have a big impact on the way our bodies process food, says Prof. Daniela Jakubowicz of TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Diabetes Unit at Wolfson Medical Centre. In a recent study, she discovered that those who eat their largest daily meal at breakfast are far more likely to lose weight and waist line circumference than those who eat a large dinner.
And the benefits went far beyond pounds and inches. Participants who ate a larger breakfast — which included a dessert item such as a piece of chocolate cake or a cookie — also had significantly lower levels of insulin, glucose, and triglycerides throughout the day, translating into a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol. These results, published recently in the journal Obesity, indicate that proper meal timing can make an important contribution towards managing obesity and promoting an overall healthy lifestyle.
Eliminating late night snacking
These findings suggest that people should adopt a well thought-out meal schedule, in addition to proper nutrition and exercise, to optimise weight loss and general health. Eating the right foods at the wrong times can not only slow down weight loss, it can also be harmful. In their study, the researchers found that those in the big dinner group actually increased their levels of triglycerides — a type of fat found in the body — despite their weight loss, reports Prof. Jakubowicz.
Prof. Jakubowicz suggests an end to late night snacking. Mindless eating in front of the computer or television, especially in the late evening hours, is a huge contributor to the obesity epidemic, she believes. It increases not only poundage, but the risk of cardiovascular disease — making that midnight sugar rush more costly than it appears.
