A recent study indicates that eating later in the day may contribute to weight gain. This one-week trial involved 31 overweight and obese adults (mean age 36; 90% women) in a weight loss program comparing daily calorie restriction to time-restricted eating, where meals were confined to specific hours.
Participants wore an activPAL device on their thigh to track physical activity and sedentary time, plus an Actiwatch for sleep-wake patterns. They also used the MealLogger app to photo-document and timestamp all meals and snacks.
On average, eating spanned 11 hours daily with 7 hours of sleep nightly. Late eaters went to bed later but slept similarly; however, later meal timing correlated with higher BMI and body fat.
