Experiment Question

Which of these Habits is the Better Choice? Dinner by 9 pm v/s Dinner by 7 pm

Experiment Answer

Dinner by 7 pm!

The circadian clock could influence glucose metabolism and thus result in higher glucose levels after a late-night-dinner. People who consume late dinner experience peak sugar levels 20% more than early eaters.

Scientific Rationale

Delaying dinner time can increase weight, insulin and cholesterol levels and negatively affect fat metabolism.
Insulin, fasting glucose, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels increase in response to eating late at night.
Ghrelin, which stimulates appetite, peaked earlier in the daytime, suggesting that the participants received cues to eat earlier, and eating earlier likely helped them to stay satiated longer.

Eating late at night could be more dangerous compared to eating earlier in the day as it can increase weight, insulin and cholesterol levels, and negatively affect fat metabolism, and hormonal markers implicated in heart disease, diabetes and other health problems.The findings offer the first experimental evidence on the metabolic consequences of consistent delayed eating compared to daytime eating.

Eating later can promote a negative profile of weight, energy and hormone markers such as higher glucose and insulin, which are implicated in diabetes, and cholesterol and triglycerides, which are linked with cardiovascular problems and other health conditions.

Eating earlier may help prevent overeating in the evening and at night. As sleep-wake cycles were constant, melatonin levels remained constant in both groups.