Eating dinner at this time is best for weight loss, a new study finds

Eating late has long been linked to weight gain, with little understanding as to why. Now, a new study could explain why this happens and why an early dinner might be helpful for staying healthy and promoting weight loss.

The study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, also found some positive results regarding intermittent fasting, showing that meals eaten within a 10-hour window may be a healthier choice overall.

Photo by Artem Labunsky via Unsplash

According to the study, conducted by Harvard Medical School doctors, the time of day we eat affects numerous things, such as our hunger, our daily energy levels and where our body stores fat.

The study involved 16 overweight participants who all ate the same meals at different times. They also adhered to sleep and wake times, trying their best to keep the study as homogeneous as possible.

The researchers explain that there was an early group, who ate their meals at 9:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m., and a late group, who ate at 1:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m., and 9:00 p.m. from the participants, including blood samples, their temperature and self-reported hunger.

Although there has long been a link between late eating and weight loss, it has never been understood.

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The results showed that participants who ate late reported more hunger and had less energy. A look at their samples showed that they burned calories more slowly than the early group, all of whom were more likely to be obese.

“This study shows the effects of eating late versus eating early. Here we isolated these effects by controlling for confounding variables such as calorie intake, physical activity, sleep and light exposure, but in real life many of these factors can themselves be influenced by meal timing,” explained senior author Frank Scheer.

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The researchers explain that the small study allowed them to control more of external factors such as sleep schedules and the meals eaten, resulting in a study showing a better understanding of how the body works and why obesity affects people who eat at later times .