We always pay much attention to what we eat, but it turns out the timing of our meals is also important.
Studies have shown that when calories get consumed later at night, the body tends to store them as fat rather than burn them as energy. And some studies done with animals found that food is processed by the body in different ways depending on what time of day it's consumed. This might be because of physical activity, changes in body temperature, biochemical reactions and absorption and digestion of food.
If you're trying to lose weight, you may want to consider eating dinner very early or making a late lunch your last meal of the day.
In a 2018 study, researchers found that meal timing has an effect on human metabolism. They studied a small group of people carrying extra weight and found that those who ate their last meal by mid-afternoon had reduced daily hunger swings and increased fat burning at night.
“Eating only during a much smaller window of time than people are typically used to may help with weight loss, specifically by increasing our body's ability to burn fat and protein,” said Courtney Peterson, Ph. D. “We found that eating between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. followed by an 18-hour daily fast burned more fat and kept appetite levels more even throughout the day, in comparison to eating between 8 a.m. and 12 hours later, which is average for Americans.”
Peterson's research found that eating in a shorter daily window — 8 hours versus 12 hours — and an earlier time both affect metabolism.
Similarly, a 10-week study of “time-restricted feeding” looked at what happened to body fat when people limited their meals to a shorter window of time. Researchers found that people who ate breakfast 90 minutes later than usual and ate dinner 90 minutes earlier than usual lost more than twice as much body fat on average as those in the control group, who ate their meals as they normally would.
Although this study is small, it has provided us with invaluable insight into how slight changes to our meal times can have benefits to our bodies.
8. What decides the process of food in the body?
A.The amount of food we eat. | B.The way we swallow the food. |
C.The type of food we consume. | D.The time when we eat the food. |
9. What is common in the US?
A.Having an early breakfast. | B.Having dinner before 8 p.m. |
C.Eating more fat and protein than others. | D.Eating their last meal by mid-afternoon. |
10. What will happen if you shorten the time between breakfast and supper?
A.You will get hungry easily. | B.You will put on more weight. |
C.Your metabolism ability will decrease. | D.More of your body fat will get burned. |
11. What can be the best title for the text?
A.Ways to Lose Weight | B.The Importance of Meals |
C.Meal Timing and Weight Loss | D.The Right Time to Lose Weight |