Does Midnight Snacking Cause Weight Gain?
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
I was reading about some research done at Northwestern University related to midnight snacks. The research was done on mice, but may hold true for humans as well. (Researchers said other studies pointed to the same effect in humans eating at night.)
Researchers found that if mice ate during their normal sleeping hours, they gained more weight than mice fed the same calories during their regular waking hours. The difference was significant, more than twice the weight gain in the mice who ate when they should have been sleeping. (The activity levels in both groups of mice was similar.)
This research seems to indicate that if you eat late at night, the potential for weight gain will be much greater than if you eat during the day. This might be because your metabolism has slowed down, to prepare you for sleep. (That is my assumption, it was not mentioned in the article I read.)
I think this should give everyone a great reason to avoid the midnight snacks.