Weight management is one of the toughest tasks. It is very difficult to keep a close watch on your weight when all through the day you are engaged in hectic office and personal work. With late working hours becoming a new normal, eating out late in the night has now become quite common. But many people fear eating at night, especially after 8 p.m. because it is supposed to make you gain weight.
Is it really so? Does eating at night make you gain weight? Here’s an overview!
Eating late affects the circadian rhythm of the body
The basic idea that eating late makes you gain weight has come from a few animal studies that show a body uses calories consumed in certain parts of the day more actively than other times. A few researchers believe that eating late goes against the circadian rhythm of the body as night is the time when the body needs to rest and sleep.
Studies show that mice who ate opposite to their circadian rhythm gained more weight. However, this hypothesis does not work with humans. It is not when you eat but rather what and how much you eat that affects your capacity to gain or lose weight.
Poor dietary choices
Usually, when you eat late, you are very hungry and almost famished. And that is why you end up eating in excess. That is the reason why you gain weight. Instead eating your breakfast, lunch, and dinner on regular time ensures that you are watchful during your meals and hence do not end up eating more than required.
Studies have shown that late eaters often make poor choices. Many times they do not have time to cook a healthy meal and have to rely on packaged foods or order from outside. More often, such foods are high in refined sugar, starch, and carbohydrates that can contribute to immediate weight gain irrespective of the time when you eat them.
So it is not always that eating at night can make you gain weight. But eating at the right time and at regular frequency helps you to choose the right diet and hence eating foods with limited calories ensures that you do not gain weight.