Truth revealed: Can eating late at night lead to weight gain?

Visualize this. It’s the middle of the week. You come back from work late, and now you plan to stay up late and watch a movie. And since we all know that a movie and fast food make the perfect power pair, you order food online. The rest is history.

If this is how your week goes, don’t be surprised if you gain a few extra pounds. If that happens, what do you blame? Late night eating or fast food?

Eating late at night has been associated with weight gain for decades. You must have heard your relatives suggesting that you should eat before 8 pm to avoid those pounds you could gain from eating late at night. But have you been told the truth or is it just one of those old folk tales that old people told you about?

Well, let’s find out.

Let’s reveal the truth, shall we?

If you’ve gained a few pounds after nights of late eating, it’s not the late night snacking but the snack of choice. At the end of the day, it’s all about the calories you eat and the calories you burn. The only reason you’re gaining weight is because you’ve been in a caloric surplus. In simple words, you have consumed more calories than you have burned.

The time you ate your food, whether it was carbohydrate or fat, is not critical to weight loss, but the calorie deficit is. The only way to lose fat is to be in a calorie deficit.

What gave way to the theory that eating late at night causes weight gain?

The theory emerges from several animal studies. According to these studies, animals gained weight when fed late at night. This is probably due to the hypothesis that your body consumes calories differently after a certain point in the day. At night, your metabolism slows down and your body begins to excessively store calories, instead of burning them.

Eating late at night interferes with your circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm can be called your body clock. These are the physical, mental and behavioral changes that occur within 24 hours. These natural processes affect all living things. These processes can be your body’s response to day and night, when you wake up and when you sleep, and when you eat. When you eat at night, and it goes against your circadian rhythm, it throws off the balance of your body and your plans because nights are for sleeping, not eating.

The study was conducted primarily on mice. It was observed that a rat that ate against the circadian rhythm gained more fat than a rat that ate during waking hours; The quantity and calories of the food were also the same.

While the study proved a relationship between food and the timing of eating it, there are not enough studies conducted in humans to prove the hypothesis.

However, not all studies in humans support this idea. For example, a study was conducted in which more than 1,600 children participated. Each child was fed dinner after 8 pm but did not gain weight and did not consume more calories throughout the day.

But when this same study was conducted on 52 adults, an increase in caloric intake was seen, which led to weight gain in the long term.

The disadvantage of eating too early

The only downside to eating early is that you can get hungry later in the night if you’re up late. Thus, you will eat more calories, which will sabotage your weight loss plans.

The disadvantage of eating too late

Eating late at night is often not recommended for the following reasons:

• restless sleep
• Dyspepsia
• Hypertension
• Increased mood swings and poor mental health

Hence, the key is to eat dinner at the right time. Aim to eat dinner at least two hours before your bedtime.

Concluding thoughts

While the idea of ​​late-night eating causing weight gain may be overblown, it is necessary to consider the broader context of general dietary habits and lifestyle choices. While the timing of meals may have some effect on metabolic processes, the quality and quantity of food consumed, as well as an individual’s calorie intake and level of physical activity, play more important roles in weight management.

It is always wise to maintain a balanced, nutritious diet, practice portion control, and exercise regularly to reach and maintain a healthy weight, no matter what time of day we choose to eat. By adopting a holistic approach to our eating habits, we can make informed choices that support our overall well-being.

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