Once the clock strikes midnight (or in this case 6pm), all calories go straight to the waist, hips and thighs, right? Everyone has heard the mantra that eating after a certain time at night leads to greater weight gain, but is 6pm really a hard and fast rule? Danna Hunnes, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and The New York Post think not. However, there is agreement that eating at night can lead to greater weight gain, particularly when the late night munchies chooses junk foods as its snack of choice. James LeCheminant and others looked at the differences in weight among 29 male participants under two difference circumstances.4 The first involved a nighttime eating restriction, where no food was consumed between the hours of 7pm and 6am for two weeks.4 The participants lost about one pound each.4 However, when this restriction was lifted, the participants gained an average of 1.3 pounds back.4 Researchers concluded that this difference was mostly due to the fact that eating at night increased daily energy intake, rather than because the food was specifically consumed at night instead of during the day.3
The New York Post article also references an article in Women’s Health that discusses Eckel et al.’s research concerning the effects of evening eating on insulin levels, in which “ad libitum food intake [during the biological night] resulted in ∼20% reduced oral and intravenous insulin sensitivity.”2 Eating in the evenings, when your body is more resistant to insulin’s effects, causes blood sugar to increase as well as excess sugar to be store as fat, both of which are unfavorable health effects.
Dietician Danna Hunnes suggests that adequately fueling oneself throughout the day should help to reduce nighttime hunger and thus lessen the weight gain effects that do result from eating unhealthy snacks late at night. Practitioners can utilize this information to help disseminate information to patients on what composes a healthy meal (i.e. a breakfast with enough protein, proper portions throughout the day, etc.) and thus help decrease individual’s need to snack after dinnertime.
1Arnold, C. How to Cut Out Late-Night Snacking. (December 31, 2013). Women’s Health. Retrieved on October 16, 2016 from http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/night-snacks.
2Eckel, R. et al. Morning Circadian Misalignment during Short Sleep Duration Impacts Insulin Sensitivity. (November 5, 2015). Current Biology. Retrieved October 16, 2016 from http://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(15)01239-7.
3Fetters, K. Just how serious is that ‘no eating after 6’ rule? (August 29, 2016). New York Post. Retrieved October 16, 2016 from http://nypost.com/2016/08/29/just-how-serious-is-that-no-eating-after-6-rule/.
4LeCheminant, J., Christenson, E., Bailey, B., & Tucker, L. Restricting night-time eating reduces daily energy intake in healthy young men: a short-term cross-over study. (December 2013). British Journal of Nutrition. Retrieved October 16, 2016 from https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/restricting-night-time-eating-reduces-daily-energy-intake-in-healthy-young-men-a-short-term-cross-over-study/3627087601F148E8D16163468FCB3F05.
I think our lifestyle and job setting plays a large role in the times we eat throughout the day. I know personally it is extremely rare that I get home from work before 6pm and have a structured lunch hour every day. That being said it is almost impossible for me to eat dinner before that 6pm mark. I always find studies like these interesting and even more so slightly frustrating when they do not take any lifestyle factors into effect. I am also always curious as to whether a person’s sleeping habits in any way effect the “magical time” a person should stop eating by. I think generalizing recommendations like this is hard to do when everyone’s lifestyle and body metabolism are extremely different. I understand the concept, but am curious as to future research that adjusts the parameters for those who have a lifestyle that is different then just working a 9-5 job with a structured lunch hour and “normal” breakfast and dinner time each day.
I agree with the above. We should proceed with caution with coming up with generalizations regarding a cut-off time for eating meals. Not only do lifestyle factors should be considered, but cultural factors are not taken in consideration as well. When I lived in South Korea, it was common to eat a late dinner. This was especially the case for high school teachers and students who did not go back home from school or cram school until 10-11pm. So students and teachers either ate dinner at school or had snacks after they left. In addition, due to “company culture” workers are required to go to “work dinners” at times which can happen late after work hours.
That being said, for some people, having a cut-off time does work. I know people who swear by this and to each their own! But for others, that is not so much the case. I do think that as one is fatigued, they are more likely to choose the “quickest option” which could be not the “best choice”, but one way around it is to make sure to have healthy options around when getting the munchies.
For me, I don’t think it’s necessarily nighttime hunger that I struggle with. It’s the fact that I get home late for work and I find myself eating dinner between 730-8 (or even later). It’s so difficult especially when I work 12 hour days, I get home around 7ish, I’m on the verge of hangry (mixture of hungry and angry) and I really just want to go grab chick fil a, because its so good, and its fast, but not the healthiest food to put in my stomach a few hours before I go to bed. I don’t have to wait for my vegetables to be cooked, or wait for my chicken to be thawed out, which would be the healthier option and easier to digest. One of of the studies where 29 of the participants had a nighttime eating restriction, where no food was consumed between the hours of 7pm and 6am for two weeks, is very strict and I believe that in our work culture today that is not very possible. Also only losing 1 pound over 2 weeks and then immediately gaining back more than 1 pound when the restriction was lifted tells me that the participants did not like the time restriction. I think this study would be more applicable if it showed the difference between eating a bowl of fruit for nighttime hunger over eating something that is high in carbohydrates or sugar, and how it effected your body while sleeping and if it had any effect on the person’s energy the next day. Also this study only used 29 males and so the study was very limited. I completely agree with the statement ” Practitioners can utilize this information to help disseminate information to patients on what composes a healthy meal (i.e. a breakfast with enough protein, proper portions throughout the day, etc.) and thus help decrease individual’s need to snack after dinnertime”, if I manage my meals well throughout the day I am far less likely to snack binge later on.
I absolutely agree with you. I think it’s also extremely important that people follow their hunger cues. If they are hungry at 8 PM, they should eat. That being said, the later it gets, the likelier people are to choose foods high in salt, sugar and fat. However, if someone chooses a healthy snack of maybe half a banana and a small handful of nuts, they can quench that hunger without skyrocketing their blood sugar levels (almonds wont raise blood sugar and half a banana is a very modest portion of carbohydrates). The problem is, people who are struggling with weight (and the average American) wouldn’t choose a healthy snack in the evening, which I think is a hugely limiting factor in this area of research. Interesting studies have been done in shift workers to see how eating at night affects the hormones that signal hunger and satiety–but even those studies aren’t applicable to people who don’t follow a reversed night/day cycle. Regardless, the bottom line is to “eat healthy food when you’re hungry” and not worry about the time of day!
I have definitely heard many rules that say not to eat after a certain time, but like it was mentioned in previous comments, this is just not possible for many people to manage. Especially with doctors, nurses, and other occupations that might work night shifts, they have completely different eating schedules. It seems that as long as one manages their food throughout their typical day, individuals are less likely to be starving later in the day and make unhealthy food choices. I also believe that there are times that I get hungry at night but try not to snack on anything at all, then when I wake up in the morning I am starving and want to eat anything I can get my hands on. I believe the concept of intuitive eating is especially important in these cases. Paying attention to what one’s body is telling him or her is important for practitioners to focus on in their practice and assisting clients to not get so caught up in these types of rules.
I feel like not eating after 6pm can be unrealistic for college students or any person working night shift. College students are typically known to stay up late because of studies or tests. Studying takes energy and one is bound to get hungry. Additionally, as someone who once worked night shift, I had a meal and a snack throughout the night. How would this be addressed bearing in mind what is being proposed? This notion also limits the kind of people who can practice this. The only individuals who may be able to follow this behavior are ones with a typical 9-5 job.
I agree with Prince above that when I go to bed to avoid snacking, I get up really hungry and would eat anything in sight. I think that is something that should also be addressed if we are encouraging people not to eat after 6pm. Individuals may end up having a huge meal when they wake up so as to compensate. Since bodies can naturally crave foods high in fat and sugar after not eating for a while, there is a risk that people may end up having not only huge but also unhealthy meals as breakfast. This will defeat the whole purpose of trying to control eating habits. Health practitioners encouraging this notion to their clients need to address possible side effects.