Does eating food after 8:00 p.m. induce more weight gain?

Marjet Heitzer, Ph.D. The Plateau-proof Diet Foundation.

Http://www.plateauproofdiet.com

The short answer to this question is- NO. Although this myth has
been perpetuated for many years, it is a myth nonetheless.
Because individuals are more likely to be sedentary (less
active) later in the day, the myth states that you won’t burn
off the food eaten late at night. Hence because late night meals
and snacks aren’t immediately burned off, it is stored, hence
weight gain.

In this article, we will find out that consuming a meal or
snack late in the evening has no additional consequences as
eating a meal or snack in the morning in reference to weight
gain. Rather, it is the total amount of food as well as the
combination of macronutrients (protein, carbohydrate, or fat)
(http://www.plateauproofdiet.com) consumed during a 24 hour
period which is more important.

So, what was the basis of this myth? After a great deal of
searching, we discovered one very small study that included only
10 slightly to moderately obese women eating a controlled diet
(provided by the study investigators). The authors of this study
determined that there was a slight enhancement in weight loss
when individuals consumed higher daily energy in the morning
(breakfast and lunch) as opposed to the evening (dinner and
evening snack) (1). In the first 6 weeks, the time of day in
which most of the food was consumed did not matter. However, in
the following 6 weeks, the investigators observed that women,
who consumed most of their food energy in the morning hours,
lost slightly more weight (8.6 and 7.2 lbs., respectively) than
women who consumed more food in the evening. However, women that
had the evening meal schedule lost less fat-free (or lean) mass,
indicating that they had a greater loss of body fat percentage.
It should be restated that the results indicated only a slight
benefit from consuming most of their food in the morning. Also,
because the number of participants in this study as well as the
length of the study was very small, it is difficult to determine
if this trend would continue.

Although meal time does not directly affect weight gain,
people that eat breakfast are less likely to be obese. There is
some evidence that people who consume more food in the morning
hours tend to consume less total food (2). A study by deCastro
et al. observed 375 men and 492 women eating ad libitum (at
their own discretion) using a diet journal system (2). They
found that consuming food in the morning may provide more
satiety (the feeling of fullness) as compared to eating food
later in the day. This may be why meal sizes tend to increase
and between meal intervals decrease as the day progresses,
resulting in ingestion of approximately 150% more food energy in
the evening as compared to the morning. So, people who tend to
consume more food in the evening hours were inclined to consume
more total food. It may be that eating breakfast and a larger
lunch influences an individual’s feeling of hunger, thereby
influencing the amount of total food consumed in a day.

Obese people tend to consume more food that normal sized
people and most of that food is eaten in the evening (3).
Although consuming food in the evening doesn’t affect weight
gain directly, if a person skips breakfast and consumes most of
their food in the evening, they generally eat more, leading to
increased weight gain. Alternatively, people who eat breakfast
tend to consume less food totally throughout the day.

It should be noted that this article is concerned with
moderate evening meal and snack consumption and not excessive
evening eating as in night eating syndrome (NES). NES is
characterized by morning anorexia, evening hyperphagia (enormous
overeating), as well as insomnia (4). Individuals suffering from
NES are fully awake and conscious during these episodes. Most
people with NES consume more that 50% of their daily caloric
intake after their last evening meal in the form of evening
snack (5). Although NES is often associated with obesity, it can
be present in non-obese individual (6). Finally, NES is also
associated with depression. If you think you may be suffering
from NES, it is important to immediately contact your primary
care physician to discuss relevant treatment options.

1. Keim NL, Van Loan MD, Horn WF, Barbieri TF, Mayclin PL
1997 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. J Nutr 127:75-82

2. de Castro JM 2004 The time of day of food intake influences
overall intake in humans. J Nutr 134:104-11

3. Berteus Forslund H, Lindroos AK, Sjostrom L, Lissner L 2002
Meal patterns and obesity in Swedish women-a simple instrument
describing usual meal types, frequency and temporal
distribution. Eur J Clin Nutr 56:740-7

4. Birketvedt GS, Florholmen J, Sundsfjord J, et al. 1999
Behavioral and neuroendocrine characteristics of the
night-eating syndrome. Jama 282:657-63

5. Tanofsky-Kraff M, Yanovski SZ 2004 Eating disorder or
disordered eating? Non-normative eating patterns in obese
individuals. Obes Res 12:1361-6

6. Stunkard AJ, Allison KC 2003 Two forms of disordered eating
in obesity: binge eating and night eating. Int J Obes Relat
Metab Disord 27:1-12

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