Snack Science: Bedtime Snacks Really Are More Fattening
Maybe the Japanese are ahead of us in snacking science… or maybe they’re just beating us in showing it on TV. But either way, after proving that there really is another stomach for dessert, NHK’s Kaitai Shin Show now shows that bedtime snacks really are fattening - and indirectly puts in a good word for afternoon tea.
A July episode of the show started by reporting on research in 1993 at Kyushu University: Seven women ate the exact same meal three times a day for ten days, at 7:30, 12:30, and 6:00. At the end of the period, all seven had lost weight. Then, they ate the same meals for another ten days, but now, dinnertime was changed from 6:00 to 10:00.
At the end of the second ten days, despite eating the exact same food, all seven women had gained weight.
The program then turned to Professor Shigeki Shimba of Nihon University. He explained the mechanism of this effect, which involves a protein in the body called BMAL 1. This protein facilitates the accumulation of fats in cells. And, crucially, the amount of BMAL 1 in the body varies according to the time of day. It is lowest at 3 PM, and four times higher at 11 PM.
So, it looks like there’s good news and bad news. If you eat late at night and you’re worried about your weight, you’d better stop. But! If you eat cookies at 3 PM, that is the best time to trick your body into storing the least possible fat from them.
Americans have always neglected afternoon tea, but now we have the perfect excuse to take up this civilized snacking habit at a time of day when many of us need a little pick-me-up.
Also, if you say you can’t quit bedtime eating because you need the snack to get to sleep, the show had advice for you. Bedtime snacking can interfere with sleep because the stomach clock in the brain, if it gets out of synch with the general biological clock, interferes with its messages to the rest of the body. Fortunately, the timing of the stomach clock is entirely determined by what time you get up and eat breakfast. Bedtime snackers who need the snack to sleep are usually also those who skip breakfast. So, get up and eat a good breakfast and you should be on your way to re-setting the stomach clock and giving up that fattening bedtime snack.
3 Comments
Jim on November 26th, 2008
I’ve always heard the rule of thumb, if you don’t want to gain weight,
was not to eat after 8 p.m. Guess it’s true.
This post reminded me of the Kinks’ song, “Afternoon Tea”. Good times.
Candy Addict » Snackerrific Roundup: Snacks And News Go Healthy This Time ‘Round on December 5th, 2008
[...] even an article written explaining the science behind why bed-time snacking isn’t really that good for your waist-size, and when you should eat that snack (or candy) during the day to most effectively avoid the [...]
lindz on November 26th, 2008
while i don’t doubt that this has some truth to it, i know that most
nights of the week, i dont get to eat dinner until midnight or so
because that’s when i get off work. i don’t eat a huge dinner, just
average and then always a little something sweet too. this has never
caused me to gain weight. i don’t really lose weight if i happen to
eat dinner earlier on a regular basis either. just thought i’d throw
that out there.
p.s. - love your website!!