Lose weight: Eating late makes pounds stick

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MunichLosing weight is a difficult undertaking. Not only the amount of calories, but above all the time at which they are consumed plays an important role. Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have now discovered this connection. The later a person eats, the worse they get rid of their pounds. "This is the first study to show that the timing of eating predicts the effectiveness of weight loss can ", says Prof. Frank Scheer, the senior author of the study.

"Early eaters" lose pounds

The researchers looked at 420 overweight study participants who were undergoing a 20-week weight loss program. They were divided into two groups: the "early eaters" and the "late eaters". The test subjects could decide for themselves whether they consumed the main meal before or after 3 p.m. At that point, they were consuming around 40 percent of their daily calories. “The late eaters lost significantly less weight and much more slowly than those who ate earlier,” says Scheer.

The late eaters also consumed fewer calories at breakfast than the other group or even skipped breakfast altogether. With the smaller meals, the time of eating did not play a role in the success of the weight loss. The late eaters also had a lower sensitivity to insulin - a risk factor for type 2 diabetes.

Other factors without weight

The researchers also looked at other factors that are important for weight loss: the total number of calories ingested, the amount of the appetite hormones leptin and ghrelin, and the length of time you sleep. When it came to these factors, the researchers found no differences between the two groups. "New therapeutic strategies should not only focus on calorie intake - as is traditionally done - but also take into account the time of eating", concludes Prof. Marta Garaulet, the lead author of the study from the University of Murcia in Spain. (in the)

Source: Garaulet, M. et al., International Journal of Obesity, January 29, 2013;

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