EARLIER LUNCH SPEEDS WEIGHT LOSS

Successful weight loss may be all in the timing. Working with Spanish researchers, investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Tufts University in Boston looked at weight loss in a group of 420 dieters to see whether an early lunch (before 3 p.m.) or a late one (after 3 p.m.) made any difference over 20 weeks. The team focused on the timing of lunch because it is the main meal in Spain, providing an average of about 40 percent of daily calories. They found that late lunchers lost weight at a slower rate and lost significantly fewer pounds than those who ate lunch earlier. The investigators also noted that the timing of other, smaller meals played no apparent role in weight loss success. The researchers saw no differences between the two groups in total calorie intake and expenditure, levels of the appetite hormones leptin and ghrelin, and sleep duration. However, they found that late eaters who lost less weight ate little at breakfast and were more likely to skip the morning meal than the early eaters. The study was published in the January 29, 2013 issue of the in the International Journal of Obesity.

Source:
Marta Garaulet, PhD et al “Timing of food intake predicts weight loss effectiveness,” International Journal of Obesity, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/ijo.2012.229

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