Eating Earlier Decreases Daily Food Consumption

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Eating Earlier Decreases Daily Food Consumption

JoAnn Guest

Jan 01, 2005 23:12 PST

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By Maureen Williams, ND

 

Healthnotes Newswire (April 8, 2004)—Eating large amounts of food early

in the day, but not late in the day, is associated with decreased total

food consumption, according to a study published in the Journal of

Nutrition (2004;134:104–11). Changing eating patterns might therefore be

helpful for people trying to lose weight.

 

Eating is influenced by a complex set of factors such as hunger, mood,

biorhythms, habits, cultural norms, food availability, and genetics. A

number of studies have examined the rhythm of food intake in humans and

found that, in general, significantly more food is eaten in the evening

than in the morning. Furthermore, the time between finishing eating and

eating again has been shown consistently to become shorter as the day

goes on, suggesting that food intake is less filling (satiating) in the

evening than at other times of the day. This reduced satiation value of

food eaten late in the day, combined with the tendency to eat the

greatest proportion of a day’s food in the evening, might contribute to

overeating and therefore to overweight and obesity.

 

More than 60% of adults and 25% of children in the United States are

overweight or obese, and excess weight has become an increasing problem

over the past 30 years. The health implications of such an overweight

population are so great that the U.S. government has recently warned

that overweight will soon pose a more serious threat to public health

than smoking. There is an ongoing search by healthcare organizations and

other groups for effective measures to control overeating.

 

The current study analyzed food diaries of 867 people. Participants were

given diaries and instructed to record every item they ate or drank, its

size or amount, the time it was eaten, how it was prepared, the eating

environment, and the attractiveness of the food. They were also asked to

document their mood and level of hunger and thirst at the time each item

was consumed. Participants kept these food diaries for seven days. Food

consumption patterns were analyzed for five four-hour time periods of

the day.

 

The amount of food consumed was found to increase with successive time

periods until 10 P.M., with the least amount of food being eaten between

6 and 10 A.M. and the greatest amount of food eaten between 6 and 10

P.M. As meal sizes increased, the time between finishing eating and

eating again became significantly shorter. Finally, eating a greater

proportion of a day’s food early in the day was linked with

significantly lower total daily intake than was eating a greater

proportion of a day’s food late in the day. Even for individuals, daily

food consumption was lower on days when a greater proportion was eaten

in the morning than it was on days when a greater proportion was eaten

in the evening.

 

The results of this study are consistent with those of other studies

that have shown that food intake increases and its satiation value

decreases as the day progresses. Additionally, this study identified a

link between increased food intake in the morning and decreased overall

daily intake. Future studies are needed to determine whether changing

eating patterns to increase morning food intake will result in long-term

reductions in overall food intake and weight loss.

 

 

Maureen Williams, ND, received her bachelor’s degree from the University

of Pennsylvania and her Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr

University in Seattle, WA. She has a private practice in Quechee, VT,

and does extensive work with traditional herbal medicine in Guatemala

and Honduras. Dr. Williams is a regular contributor to Healthnotes

Newswire.

 

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" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

 

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