The Impact of Meal Timing on Risk of Weight Gain and Development of Obesity: a Review of the Current Evidence and Opportunities for Dietary Intervention

Abstract

Purpose of Review The aim of this short review is to provide an updated commentary on the current literature examining the impact of meal timing on obesity and weight gain in adults. The potential mechanisms, including novel and emerging factors, behind timing of food intake across the 24-h period in the development of obesity, and dietary strategies manipulating meal timing to ameliorate weight gain are also explored. Recent Findings Dietary patterns that feature meal timing outside of the regular daytime hours can contribute to circadian disruption as food is metabolised in opposition to internal daily rhythms and can feedback on the timekeeping mechanisms setting these rhythms. Epidemiological evidence examining the impact of late meal timing patterns is beginning to suggest that eating at night increases the risk of weight gain over time. Mechanisms contributing to this include changes to the efficiency of metabolism across the day, and dysregulation of appetite hormone and gut microbiota by mis-timed meals. Summary When meals are eaten, in relation to the time of day, is increasingly considered of importance when implementing dietary change in order to address the growing burden of obesity, although further research is required in order to determine optimal patterns.

Sweet treats before sleep disrupt the clock system and increase metabolic risk markers in healthy rats

“…Changes in brown adipose tissue and skeletal muscle metabolism dependent on feeding time have also been reported in Wistar rats 27 . In addition, it was observed in humans that late‐night food consumption is associated with an increase in body fat 28,29 . Thus, not only the composition of our food can modulate the peripheral clocks, but the timing of our food intake is now gaining importance.…”

“…Thus, not only the composition of our food can modulate the peripheral clocks, but the timing of our food intake is now gaining importance. Indeed, late‐night food intake is a topic of recent interest because of its contribution to food intake dysregulation and the development of obesity and other metabolic disorders 25,29 . Interestingly, although the feeding cycle peaks during the activity phase, the craving for high‐caloric foods and the appetite for sweet treats increase to a maximum at the end of the active phase or beginning of the resting phase 30,31 .…”

Association between Late-Eating Pattern and Higher Consumption of Ultra-Processed Food among Italian Adults: Findings from the INHES Study

“…Among the factors that possibly contribute to the rise in obesity and cardiometabolic diseases, growing attention has been paid to the timing of food intake (i.e., the time when meals are usually consumed), which has been associated with various indicators of adiposity, possibly, but not entirely, through higher energy intake [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ].…”

Sustained effect of habitual feeding time on daily rhythm of core body temperature in mice

“…This is a putative mechanism underlying the association between meal timing and weight status. Specifically, skipping breakfast and/or eating at night may lead to obesity due to decreased DIT ( 7 , 8 ). Daily rhythms in many behavioral and physiological processes are generated by circadian clocks, which are composed of transcriptional/translational feedback loops involving a set of clock genes ( 9 ).…”