Study disproves the theory that eating too much in the morning doesn’t make you fat

Published on 10/09/2022 06:00

The adage that it’s better to eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper seems meaningless — at least if your goal is to control your calorie intake to lose weight. A study published in yesterday’s edition of the journal cell metabolism Explains that betting only on the best time for the main meal is not a guarantee slimming. In tests, volunteers who invested at different times of the day on the diet got roughly the same result.

“There are many myths about when to eat and how it can affect it body weight Or health (…) We, in the field of nutrition, are wondering how this might be possible,” says Alexandra Johnston, a researcher at the Rott Institute, University of Aberdeen in Scotland, and one of the members of the research.

According to Johnston, this understanding has been primarily driven by studies of the circadian rhythm, also known as the human body’s circadian clock. Doubts have arisen about where the energy will go at different times of the day among experts in this field. “We decided to take a closer look at how the time of day interacts with metabolism,” says the Professor of Appetite Control at the Scottish Foundation.

To do this, Johnston and his colleagues recruited healthy people who were overweight or obese to undergo a controlled diet trial. The 30 participants – 16 men and 14 women – had to follow a calorie-laden diet in the morning or evening. Both diets contained the same amount of calories—with a balance of 30% protein, 35% carbs, and 35% fat—but there was a rule about when to eat.

All participants followed both regimens. Initially, they were randomly assigned to follow a four-week regimen. After a period of one week without controlling the timing of eating, each participant followed the opposite diet for four weeks as well. During the experiment, the volunteers’ metabolism was evaluated.

less than 3 kg

When analyzing the data, the researchers found that energy expenditure and overall weight loss were the same for the morning and evening loaded diets. The subjects lost, on average, just over 3 kg during each of the four-week periods.

The group of researchers also found that the time of the highest energy intake affected appetite self-control, affecting weight gain or loss. Those who ate more calories in the morning felt less hungry. “Participants reported that their appetite was better controlled on the days when they ate a larger breakfast and felt fuller for the rest of the day,” Johnston says.

In evaluating the research group, these results are applicable in the real world. They cite as an example of intermittent fasting, also called time-restricted eating. They noted in a note that “(the results) could help determine the best time of day for people following this type of diet to consume their calories.”

More studies

However, the authors point out some limitations of the study. They noted that the inclusion of overweight and healthy people, which reduces the likelihood of metabolic problems, may have affected the results. “Consequently, more studies are needed to explore the effects of meals on different populations and with further manipulation of meal times,” they wrote.

Another point is that the test was conducted under free living conditions. They explain, “While the benefit of this is that it replicates the real-life context – that is, living in a lab will greatly affect participants’ normal physical activity – it does increase participants’ chances of violating the rules.”

The team plans to expand research into how the time of day affects metabolism by conducting studies similar to those described in Cell Metabolism. One idea is to evaluate professionals who work in different shifts. The hypothesis is that it is possible that these individuals have different metabolic responses due to disturbances in their circadian rhythm.

“It’s important to note that when it comes to time and diet, there probably isn’t a one-size-fits-all diet,” Johnston stresses. “Discovering this will be the future of diet studies.”

Monkeypox: Neurological dangers

Scientists from University College London, in the journal eClinicalMedicine, report neurological and psychiatric complications in people infected with monkeypox virus. Among the problems detected are encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), confusion, seizures, headaches, anxiety and depression.
The group notes that it is not yet possible to estimate the prevalence of this complication in the current outbreak. However, it is already known that more serious conditions, such as seizures or encephalitis, affect a small number of patients: 2% to 3%.
However, Jonathan Rogers, the study’s lead author, says the finding deserves attention. “Our study highlights the need for further investigation (…) There is also evidence that mood disorders such as depression and anxiety are relatively common in people with monkeypox,” he says.
The team evaluated data from 1,512 participants – 1,031 of whom had confirmed infection – in the United States, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Congo and the United Kingdom.