Midnight Snacks: More Fattening Than You Feared? [news]
When it comes to weight gain, the timing of your meals may be just as important as what or how much you eat. According to a study of lab animals published online by the journal Obesity, eating during the hours that the body would naturally be sleeping may lead to excess weight gain.
In the first study to associate meal timing with degree of weight gain,
sleep scientists at Northwestern University compared two groups of
mice, each placed on opposite feeding schedules for a six-week period.
Both groups were fed the same high-fat food, and both had the same
amount of daily physical activity. The only difference: one group was
fed during its normal 12-hour waking period, while the other rodents
where fed while they should have been asleep.
