Obesity risk high for those who eat later in the day: Study
| Mar 27, 2019, 14:06 IST
A new study has found eating later in the day could increase the risk of obesity.
In the past, studies have investigated the link between eating late and sleeping. "However, few studies have assessed both meal and sleep timing in adults with obesity, and it is not clear whether eating later in the day is associated with shorter sleep duration or higher body fat," lead author Adnin Zaman, M.D., of the University of Colorado in Denver (US), told a news portal.
31 overweight and obese adults (all in their lates 3os) were part of the week-long study. 90 per cent of the group were women. Researchers used innovative technology to examine three aspects of each participant. "It has been challenging to apply sleep and circadian science to medicine due to a lack of methods for measuring daily patterns of human behaviour," Zaman said. "We used a novel set of methods for simultaneous measurement of daily sleep, physical activity, and meal timing patterns that could be used to identify persons at risk for increased weight gain."
The results showed most of the participants ate meals throughout an 11-hour timeframe in the day and slept for approximately seven hours a night. Even though the participants who ate at a later time sleep late, they slept the same amount of hours as those in the group that are much earlier. The findings suggest eating late was linked to having greater body fat and a very high body mass index (BMI)
"We used a novel set of methods to show that individuals with overweight or obesity may be eating later into the day," Zaman told a news portal. Adding, "These findings support our overall study, which will look at whether restricting the eating window to earlier on in the day will lower obesity risk."
Zaman further noted: "Given that wearable activity monitors and smartphones are now ubiquitous in our modern society, it may soon be possible to consider the timing of behaviours across 24 hours in how we approach the prevention and treatment of obesity."
Obesity has become a huge public health issue and needs to be dealt with now as it can increase the risk of serious health issues like cancer, heart disease and diabetes. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 39% of adults aged 18 years were overweight in 2016. Those number are on the rise.
The study's findings will be presented at ENDO 2019, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana(US).
In the past, studies have investigated the link between eating late and sleeping. "However, few studies have assessed both meal and sleep timing in adults with obesity, and it is not clear whether eating later in the day is associated with shorter sleep duration or higher body fat," lead author Adnin Zaman, M.D., of the University of Colorado in Denver (US), told a news portal.
31 overweight and obese adults (all in their lates 3os) were part of the week-long study. 90 per cent of the group were women. Researchers used innovative technology to examine three aspects of each participant. "It has been challenging to apply sleep and circadian science to medicine due to a lack of methods for measuring daily patterns of human behaviour," Zaman said. "We used a novel set of methods for simultaneous measurement of daily sleep, physical activity, and meal timing patterns that could be used to identify persons at risk for increased weight gain."
The results showed most of the participants ate meals throughout an 11-hour timeframe in the day and slept for approximately seven hours a night. Even though the participants who ate at a later time sleep late, they slept the same amount of hours as those in the group that are much earlier. The findings suggest eating late was linked to having greater body fat and a very high body mass index (BMI)
"We used a novel set of methods to show that individuals with overweight or obesity may be eating later into the day," Zaman told a news portal. Adding, "These findings support our overall study, which will look at whether restricting the eating window to earlier on in the day will lower obesity risk."
Zaman further noted: "Given that wearable activity monitors and smartphones are now ubiquitous in our modern society, it may soon be possible to consider the timing of behaviours across 24 hours in how we approach the prevention and treatment of obesity."
Obesity has become a huge public health issue and needs to be dealt with now as it can increase the risk of serious health issues like cancer, heart disease and diabetes. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 39% of adults aged 18 years were overweight in 2016. Those number are on the rise.
The study's findings will be presented at ENDO 2019, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana(US).