【Cell】Eating late makes you hungrier and fatter! Calorie burning decreases, adipose tissue changes

This article is the original of the translational medicine network, please indicate the source when reprinting

Author: Jevin

Eating late leads to an increased
risk of obesity.
It's unclear if this is due
to changes in appetite, energy expenditure, or both.
Therefore, the researchers conducted a randomized, controlled, crossover trial to determine the effects of eating late versus eating early, while tightly controlling nutrient intake, physical activity, sleep, and light
.
Eating late increases hunger and changes in appetite-regulating hormones, increasing wakefulness and leptin ratios
for 24 hours.
In addition, eating late reduces energy expenditure during wakefulness times and core body temperature
for 24 hours.
Adipose tissue gene expression analysis showed that late eating altered pathways involved in lipid metabolism, such as p38 MAPK signaling, TGF-β signaling, regulation of receptor tyrosine kinase, and autophagy, in the direction of
decreased lipolysis/increased lipolysis.
These findings show convergence mechanisms by which late eating may lead to positive energy balance and an increased
risk of obesity.

New research shows that eating late can significantly affect the body's energy expenditure, appetite and molecular pathways
.
The findings of Professor Frank Scheer's team at Harvard Medical School were published in Cell Metabolism
.

of body weight factor and obesity risk

 01 

Obesity afflicts about 42 percent of the U.
S.
adult population and causes chronic diseases, including diabetes, cancer and other diseases
.
Healthy eating advice is not to eat late night, but few studies have fully investigated the simultaneous effects of late eating on the three main factors in weight regulation and obesity risk: regulation of calorie intake, number of calories burned, and molecular changes
in adipose tissue.

The researchers throw out the question: "Does the time we eat matter when everything else is consistent?" "Studies have found that eating after four hours has a significant impact
on the body's hunger levels, the way calories are burned after eating, and the way the body stores fat.

Randomized controlled crossover trials

 02

The team conducted a randomized controlled crossover trial to determine the effects
of late dinner time (late eating) and earlier dinner time (early eating) on the molecular regulatory mechanisms of energy intake control, energy expenditure, and adipose tissue metabolism under conditions of tightly controlled nutrient intake, physical activity, sleep time, and light exposure.

The researchers recruited 16 overweight or obese participants with an average age of 37 to complete the crossover study
.
During the last two to three weeks before the start of each protocol, all participants maintained a fixed time of sleep and wakefulness and consumed a calculated, timed, and pre-prepared diet
for the last three days before entering the lab.
Each participant then completed two experimental protocols: one was a strictly arranged "early eating" regimen (dinner at 17:00); The other is the "late eating" plan (dinner at 21:00)
with a 250-minute delay.
In addition, the researchers frequently collected small samples of blood to measure participants' body temperature and energy expenditure
.

The results showed that the chance of hunger at late eating was doubled
compared to eating early.
Eating late significantly increased the participants' appetite, and their appetite for salty foods, dairy products, and vegetables also increased
.

Eating late has a profound effect
on hunger and appetite regulating hormones leptin and ghrethin.
Specifically, levels of the hormone leptin, which signals satiety, decreased
within 24 hours compared to early eating conditions.
When the participants ate late, they also burned calories at a slower rate and exhibited adipose tissue gene expression to increase fat production and reduce lipolysis, thereby promoting fat growth
.
Notably, these findings convey the convergent physiological and molecular mechanisms of association between delayed eating and increased risk of
obesity.

Meaning and limitations

 03 

The researchers explain that these findings, along with numerous studies, suggest that eating late may increase a person's risk of
obesity.
By using randomized crossover studies and tightly controlling behavioral and environmental factors such as physical activity, posture, sleep and light, the researchers were able to detect changes in
different control systems involving energy balance.

However, in larger studies, strict control of all factors is not feasible, so it is important to consider how other behavioral and environmental variables alter these biological pathways
of potential obesity risk.

Resources:

This article is intended to introduce medical research advances and cannot be used as a reference for
treatment options.
For health guidance, please visit a regular hospital
.

Recommended Live/Events

October 21 14:00-17:30 Shanghai

Brain nervous system disease diagnosis and drug development industry salon

Scan the code to participate for free

November 01-02 09:00-17:30 Chongqing

The 1st Southwest Single Cell Omics Technology Application Forum

Scan the code to participate for free

November 25-27 09:00-17:30 Shanghai

The 4th Shanghai International Cancer Congress

Scan the code to participate