Question about food timing (Asking for scientific studies)

[YoungEx20]

Most on this board will argue that for purposes of body composition (Mostly fat gain/loss was the topic discussed) it is irrelevant as to how late a person eats because it's "calories in versus calories out." I know someone (not me, I want to prove 'em wrong) who argues that this is incorrect because eating late interrupts natural sleeping patterns and in general leads to fat storage. Any studies I can show them to convince them otherwise? Objective studies please so that there can be no argument as to possibly skewed research. Thanks for your help guys and gals. REPS will be given out for your help!

Merry Christmas all!!

[fitbliss]

Most on this board will argue that for purposes of body composition (Mostly fat gain/loss was the topic discussed) it is irrelevant as to how late a person eats because it's "calories in versus calories out." I know someone (not me, I want to prove 'em wrong) who argues that this is incorrect because eating late interrupts natural sleeping patterns and in general leads to fat storage. Any studies I can show them to convince them otherwise? Objective studies please so that there can be no argument as to possibly skewed research. Thanks for your help guys and gals. REPS will be given out for your help!

Merry Christmas all!!

Found one study that observed no difference in weight gain between primates who ate most calories during the night vs. during the day (1). Keep in mind these primates, although being widely accepted physiological analogues for human beings, might have demonstrated species-related outcome.These results might or might not be reproducible in Homo sapiens. Found the article in the nih.gov search engine. However, I also found a study that observed a higher caloric consumption amongst Night-Eaters than non-Night-Eaters (2).

Furthermore, there is a disruption in normal sleep pattern in Night-Eaters (3). If I remember right, your friend had mentioned some sort of disruption of the sleep pattern after consumption of evening meals.

1) Obes Res. 2005 Dec;13(12):2072-80.
Evidence in female rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) that nighttime caloric intake is not associated with weight gain.

Sullivan EL, Daniels AJ, Koegler FH, Cameron JL.

Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, 97006, USA.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the hypothesis that nighttime consumption of calories leads to an increased propensity to gain weight. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Sixteen female rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were ovariectomized and placed on a high-fat diet to promote weight gain, and we examined whether monkeys that ate a high percentage of calories at night were more likely to gain weight than monkeys that ate the majority of calories during the day. RESULTS: Within 6 weeks post-ovariectomy, calorie intake and body weight increased significantly (129 +/- 14%, p = 0.04; 103 +/- 0.91%, p = 0.02, respectively). Subsequent placement on high-fat diet led to further significant increases in calorie intake and body weight (368 +/- 56%, p = 0.001; 113 +/- 4.0%, p = 0.03, respectively). However, there was no correlation between the increase in calorie intake and weight gain (p = 0.34). Considerable individual variation existed in the percentage of calories consumed at night (6% to 64% total daily caloric intake). However, the percentage of calorie intake occurring at night was not correlated with body weight (r = 0.04; p = 0.87) or weight gain (r = 0.07; p = 0.79) over the course of the study. Additionally, monkeys that showed the greatest nighttime calorie intake did not gain more weight (p = 0.94) than monkeys that showed the least nighttime calorie intake. DISCUSSION: These results show that eating at night is not associated with an increased propensity to gain weight, suggesting that individuals trying to lose weight should not rely on decreasing evening calorie intake as a primary strategy for promoting weight loss.

2)Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Oct;88(4):900-5.
Nighttime eating: commonly observed and related to weight gain in an inpatient food intake study.

Gluck ME, Venti CA, Salbe AD, Krakoff J.

Obesity and Diabetes Clinical Research Section, Phoenix Epidemiology and Clinical Research Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIH, Phoenix, AZ 85016, USA. gmarci@niddk.nih.gov

BACKGROUND: Nighttime food intake has rarely been studied in inpatient settings and only one study observed a relation between self-reported nighttime eating and weight gain. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the prevalence of nighttime eating and its effect on weight change. DESIGN: Healthy nondiabetic Pima Indians (n = 117; 67 M, 50 F) and whites (n = 43; 29 M, 13 F) were admitted to a clinical research unit. After consuming a standardized diet for 3 d, participants ate ad libitum from a computer-operated vending machine that recorded the time of food selection. Energy intake was calculated as mean kcal/d. Follow-up weight was available for 94 volunteers. RESULTS: Fifty-five subjects (36%) were nighttime eaters (NEs; persons who ate between 2300 and 0500 on > or =1 of the 3 d). Prevalence was similar among whites and Pima Indians (37% and 35%, respectively). There were no significant differences in body mass index or percentage body fat between NEs and non-NEs. NEs consumed more calories per day (4758) than did non-NEs (4244; P = 0.02), but the percentage of calories from macronutrients did not differ. NEs consumed approximately 15% (690 kcal) of their daily energy during nighttime episodes. After control for baseline weight and follow-up time (x +/- SD: 3.4 +/- 1.8 y), NEs (n = 29) gained more weight (6.2 kg) than did non-NEs (n = 65; 1.7 kg; P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Nighttime eating was common, and it predicted weight gain. It remains to be determined whether this behavior indicates abnormal sleep patterns leading to nighttime wakefulness and food intake in those prone to weight gain.

3) pdf file: https://www.med.upenn.edu/uep/user_documents/dfd7.pdf

[YoungEx20]

Thanks for your help. Any other studies to show correlation? Any done on humans?

[fitbliss]

Thanks for your help. Any other studies to show correlation? Any done on humans?

This study compares how much weight 10 women lose during a period of caloric deficit and exercise and how much lean mass they preserve while on either a large morning or evening meals program. Although n (number of subjects in the study) is only 10 (pretty low and prone to a higher degree of error) it still demonstrated that while on the large am meals they lost a little more fat. However, they also lost the most lean mass, while the large evening meal group lost a little less weight but preserved more lean mass.


The Journal of Nutrition Vol. 127 No. 1 January 1997, pp. 75-82
Copyright ?1997 by the American Society for Nutritional Sciences
Weight Loss is Greater with Consumption of Large Morning Meals and Fat-Free Mass Is Preserved with Large Evening Meals in Women on a Controlled Weight Reduction Regimen

Manuscript received 3 April 1996. Initial reviews completed 2 July 1996. Revision accepted 26 September 1996.
Nancy L. Keim, Marta D. Van Loan, William F. Horn, Teresa F. Barbieri, and Patrick L. Mayclin

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Western Human Nutrition Research Center, Presidio of San Francisco, CA 94129

The purpose of this study was to determine whether meal ingestion pattern [large morning meals (AM) vs. large evening meals (PM)] affects changes in body weight, body composition or energy utilization during weight loss. Ten women completed a metabolic ward study of 3-wk weight stabilization followed by 12 wk of weight loss with a moderately energy restricted diet [mean energy intake ? SD = 107 ? 6 kJ/(kg?d)] and regular exercise. The weight loss phase was divided into two 6-wk periods. During period 1, 70% of daily energy intake was taken as two meals in the AM (n = 4) or in the PM (n = 6). Subjects crossed over to the alternate meal time in period 2. Both weight loss and fat-free mass loss were greater with the AM than the PM meal pattern: 3.90 ? 0.19 vs. 3.27 ? 0.26 kg/6 wk, P < 0.05, and 1.28 ? 0.14 vs. 0.25 ? 0.16 kg/6 wk, P < 0.001, respectively. Change in fat mass and loss of body energy were affected by order of meal pattern ingestion. The PM pattern resulted in greater loss of fat mass in period 1 (P < 0.01) but not in period 2. Likewise, resting mid-afternoon fat oxidation rate was higher with the PM pattern in period 1 (P < 0.05) but not in period 2, corresponding with the fat mass changes. To conclude, ingestion of larger AM meals resulted in slightly greater weight loss, but ingestion of larger PM meals resulted in better maintenance of fat-free mass. Thus, incorporation of larger PM meals in a weight loss regimen may be important in minimizing the loss of fat-free mass.