Eating Later in the Day May Be Associated With Obesity

You should probably curb the late-night snacking.

(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
Getty Images

A research team from the University of Colorado found that eating later in the day could be associated with obesity, Science Daily reports.

Adnin Zaman, M.D., of the University of Colorado in Denver, who lead the study, used three different technologies to track 31 overweight and obese adults who were about an average age of 36 and mostly women.

“We used a novel set of methods to show that individuals with overweight or obesity may be eating later into the day,” Zaman said. “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.”

Participants wore two devices- an activPAL on their thigh which measured much time they spent being active and an Actiwatch, which monitors sleep patterns. They also used the MealLogger app on their phone to track their food intake.

The study found that dining later was associated with a higher BMI and greater body fat. Researchers also found that people who ate later in the day went to sleep later, however all participants received about seven hours of sleep each night regardless of their meal time.

“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 said.

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