Dinner soon, have breakfast Ask early and you will avoid obesity:youA study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health suggests new patterns in the… relationship between meal times and weight. According to the authors Eating earlier in the day is better in line with the circadian rhythm and burns calories better..
To maintain our weight, it is not only useful to take into account what we eat, but also the times at which we eat it. This is evident from the results of a study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activitythere are two specific customs related to it lower body mass index (BMI) in the long term: fasting longer at night and eating breakfast early.
The work has had the participation of more than 7,000 volunteers between 40 and 65 years old of the GCAT cohort | Genomes for Life, a project led by the German Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP).
In 2018, participants answered questionnaires about their weight and height, eating habits including meals, other lifestyle habits and socio-economic position. In 2023, more than 3,000 participants completed a follow-up visit after five years, during which their measurements were re-registered and a new questionnaire was requested.
Study: interpretation of results
“Our results suggest that, in line with those of other recent studies Extending the fast overnight can help maintain a healthy weight, as long as it is accompanied by an early dinner and breakfast.. We think this is because eating earlier in the day is more adaptable to the circadian rhythm, allowing you to better burn calories and regulate your appetite, which can help maintain a healthy weight,” says Luciana Pons-Muzzo, first signatory of the work.
However, the researcher adds: “It is too early to draw definitive conclusions, so recommendations will have to wait until we have more robust evidence.”
Differences by gender
Analysis of the data by gender showed that, compared to men, in general women had a lower body mass indexgreater compliance with the Mediterranean diet, lower tendency to consume alcohol, poorer mental health and more likely to be responsible for overseeing the home or family.
The team used a statistical technique called ‘analysis cluster‘ to group individuals with similar characteristics. The results of this analysis drew the authors’ attention to a small group of men whose first meal of the day was after 2 p.m. and who ate an average of one hour per day 17 hours fast. Compared to the rest, this group of men tended to do so less healthy lifestyle (more likely to smoke, drink alcohol, less physical activity, less adherence to the Mediterranean diet), and had levels of small study And greater chance of being unemployed. These patterns were not observed in any group of women.
What about intermittent fasting?
“There are several ways to practice what is known as ‘intermittent fasting’ and our study would relate to one of them, namely overnight fasting. What we observe in a subgroup of men who do intermittent fasting where breakfast is skipped is that this practice has no effect on body weight. Other intervention studies in patients with obesity “have shown that this tactic is no more effective than reducing calorie intake in reducing body weight in the long term,” said Camille Lassale, senior co-author of the study.
“Our research is part of an emerging area of research known as ‘chrononutrition‘, which focuses not only on analyzing what we eat, but also the hours of the day and the number of times we eat it,’ he explains. Anna Palomar-Crosanother author. “Underlying this research is the knowledge that unusual patterns of food intake can conflict with the circadian system, the set of internal clocks that regulate the cycles of day and night and the physiological processes associated with them.”, he adds.