According to a study published in Nutrition & Diabetes, consuming more than 45% of our daily calorie intake after 5 p.m. is associated with an increase in glucose levels, with the harmful consequences that this has for health, regardless of the individual’s weight and body fat.
The study was carried out at Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center in New York, and was led by Dr. Diana Díaz Rizzolo, postdoctoral researcher and member of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the UOC.
Experts had previously believed that the main consequence of eating dinner late in the day was weight gain.
With this study, a new factor in cardiometabolic health is beginning to become increasingly important: when we eat,” said Díaz Rizzolo.
Díaz Rizzolo also recommends avoiding eating ultra-processed products, fast food and foods rich in carbohydrates, especially at night.
The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and Columbia University conducted a study that has provided scientific evidence for the long-held belief that eating a light and early dinner is preferable.
A study in Nutrition and Diabetes found that we consume over 45 percent of our daily caloric intake after 5 p.m. m. is linked to elevated blood glucose levels, all of which have detrimental effects on health, irrespective of body fat and weight.
Dr. Diana Díaz Rizzolo, a postdoctoral researcher and member of the UOC Faculty of Health Sciences, oversaw the study, which was conducted at Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center in New York.
According to Díaz Rizzolo, “long-term maintenance of elevated glucose levels can have consequences, such as an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, an elevated cardiovascular risk because of the harm that elevated glucose levels cause to blood vessels, and an increased risk of chronic inflammation, which exacerbates metabolic and cardiovascular damage.”.
Weight gain was once thought to be the primary effect of eating dinner late in the day, according to experts. Because the hormones that control hunger and satiety are changed when people skip meals during the day, this was linked to the tendency for people to eat worse at night, including more highly processed foods.
The study is significant because it demonstrates that meal timing can also negatively affect glucose metabolism, independent of total caloric intake, body weight, and body fat percentage.
People who eat late as opposed to early.
26 people with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes who were overweight or obese and between the ages of 50 and 70 were included in the study. Participants were split into two groups based on their glucose tolerance levels: early eaters, who consumed the majority of their daily calories before the evening, and late eaters, who consumed at least 45% of their calories after 5 p.m. m.
During the day, the two groups ate the same foods and consumed the same number of calories, but at different times. Real-time meal recording was done by the participants using a mobile app.
Regardless of their weight or the makeup of their diet, the study’s primary conclusion is that late eaters had a lower tolerance to glucose. It also found that they tended to eat larger amounts of carbohydrates and fats during the evening.
“The body’s ability to metabolize glucose is limited at night, because the secretion of insulin is reduced, and our cells’ sensitivity to this hormone declines due to the circadian rhythm, which is determined by a central clock in our brain that is coordinated with the hours of daylight and night,” the expert on obesity, diabetes, and aging, Díaz Rizzolo, explained. “.”.
the significance of eating at the appropriate time.
As a result, the study includes a significant finding regarding its effects on people’s health and mealtime habits. “Up until now, two primary questions have guided individual dietary decisions: how much we eat and what foods to select. A new factor in cardiometabolic health is starting to gain importance as a result of this study: when we eat,” Díaz Rizzolo said.
The researcher suggests that food should be consumed primarily during the day and that “the highest levels of calorie intake during the day should be at breakfast and lunch, instead of at teatime and dinner.” However, caution should be exercised when interpreting the study’s findings, as additional research will be necessary to fully understand the topic. Moreover, Díaz Rizzolo advises against consuming highly processed foods, fast food, and carbohydrate-rich foods, particularly at night.
