Why does eating late increase the risk of weight gain?

A study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism on October 4, found that the time we eat impacts our energy expenditure, appetite and adipogenesis, or how the body stores fat.

The team found that eating later had a significant impact on hunger-regulating hormones. (Getty images/ Representatiove image)

While some studies have linked late night eating to increased risk of obesity and impaired weight loss, there have been few investigations into its effects onto the main drivers of weight regulation, according to a group of researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

A study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism on October 4, found that the time we eat impacts our energy expenditure, appetite and adipogenesis, or how the body stores fat.

The team studied 16 participants with body mass index in the overweight or obese range. Each person was given the same meals and underwent two laboratory protocols, an early meal scheduling, and another with each meal scheduled 250 minutes later in the day.

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Samples of adipose tissue from participants in both schedules were collected to measure the impact of eating time on fat storage.

The team found that eating later had a significant impact on hunger-regulating hormones. The levels of leptin, which inhibits our appetite, were reduced across 24 hours during late eating. Late eating doubled the odds of being hungry and when participants ate later, they burned calories at a slower rate. It also promoted adipose tissue expansion via increase adipogenesis and decreased lipolysis, which may promote fat mass accumulation

“In this study, we asked, ‘Does the time that we eat matter when everything else is kept consistent?'” said first author Nina Vujovic, PhD, a researcher in the Medical Chronobiology Program in the Brigham’s Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders. “And we found that eating four hours later makes a significant difference for our hunger levels, the way we burn calories after we eat, and the way we store fat.

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