What You Eat Matters; Timing Does Not.

There is a common belief that we shouldn't take calories at night. But what does the evidence say about it?

A prospective study including more than 500 adults found a significant relationship between weight fluctuations over 6 years and the number of daily meals, but not the interval between the first and last meals.

Some research suggests that timing food intakes, such as through time-restricted eating or intermittent fasting, can aid in weight loss. Still, population-based studies of meal intervals and weight changes are required as these tactics have produced weight loss comparable to eating throughout the day in randomized trials.

A total of 1,017 individuals who were patients at one of three health systems were included in the study, of which 547 had complete data accessible, which was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The average time between meals was 11.5 hours, and there was no correlation between this and weight change. Over time, however, the overall number of large and medium-sized meals per day was linked to weight gain, whereas people who reported eating more small meals displayed weight decrease.

The average time between waking up and eating your first meal was 1.6 hours, and the average time between eating your last meal and going to bed was 4.0 hours. The researchers report that these times were not related to weight changes over the follow-up period. The major takeaway is that while eating fewer large meals is related to decreased weight gain over time, reducing your window of eating, such as eating over a shorter period or having more fasting time, may not reduce weight gain over time.

The researchers came to the conclusion that more trials with a more extended follow-up period are necessary because the findings do not support time- restricted eating as a long-term weight- loss approach.

Dr. Tugan Tezcaner

General&Laparoscopic Surgeon