Could that midnight trip to the fridge be doing more damage to your body than you think?
Most people know that it is poor dietary standards if you eat anything right before you go to bed. According to a study published in the Journal of Obesity It was found that the body’s natural circadian rhythm and related rest cycles might also play a roll in weight gain than once previously thought.
Almost One-third of the people living in the US are considered Obese. "How or why a person gains weight is very complicated, it is clearly not just a matter of calories in and calories out," Fred Turek, a professor at Northwestern University's Weinberg College. Researches at Northwestern University were interested in conducting a study that involved late-night shift workers. This was simple due to the fact that their schedules force them to eat at times that conflict with their natural body rhythms". Placing them as the best candidates for this experiment. This is one piece of evidence that got scientist thinking – eating at the wrong time if the day might be contributing to weight gain. So they started an investigation with this experiment.
To compare these results another experiment was conducted using mice. The mice were divided into two groups Active period eaters and rest-period eaters. The mice that were given unlimited access to high-fat food only during their normal rest periods increased in heft by 48 percent, whereas those given unlimited access to fatty food during their normal activity periods put on about 20 percent of bulk over their baseline.
In 2007 researches located Nocturnin, a gene that works in both circadian clock and in controlling weight gain in fatty diets. As can be seen a simple thing such as shifting snack time could in fact help some people trim down "Better timing of meals, which would require a change in behavior, could be a critical element in slowing the ever-increasing incidence of obesity," Turek said.
Bridgette-Rose Taylor 41724345
Reference :http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=body-clock-linked-to-weight-gain-2009-09-03
