Does eating before bed cause obesity?

Does eating before bed cause obesity?

Many articles in women's magazines and many friends and slimming doctors advise eating less in the evening. This is because - in their view - food turns into fat automatically when sleeping. Where the saying goes: Eat breakfast like kings, eat lunch like princes, eat dinner like poor people. Therefore, the slimming doctor prescribes you a very poor dinner (a piece of Quraish cheese or a cup of skimmed yogurt), which causes you excruciating pain due to hunger and great difficulty in sleeping.

Their justification is that when sleeping, the basic metabolic rates (burning rate) decrease, and therefore they believe that the body does not burn food effectively and this food turns into fat in the rumen, chest and buttocks. When you wake up, you are constantly moving and burning calories at a high rate. When sleeping, movement stops and the rate of burning calories decreases. This justification seems strong at first glance, but it is half the truth.

So let's quickly talk about:

Sleeping Metabolic Rate (SMR .)

Sleep metabolic rate is the rate at which calories are burned during sleep.

Study 1:

Katayose Y, Tasaki M, Ogata H, Nakata Y, Tokuyama K, Satoh M. Metabolic rate and fuel utilization during sleep assessed by whole-body indirect calorimetry. Metabolism. 2009 Jul;58(7):920-6.

This study actually demonstrated that the basal metabolic rate drops 35% in the first half of the sleep cycle. This is consistent with the legend. But this study also proves that your basal metabolic rate (SMR) rises dramatically in the second half of the sleep cycle!

So, burn rates during sleep change over time, but what is the overall outcome of a complete sleep cycle? The answer is in the next two studies.

Study 2-3:

Seale JL, Conway JM. Relationship between overnight energy expenditure and BMR measured in a room-sized calorimeter. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1999 Feb;53(2):107-11.

Zhang K, Sun M, Werner P, Kovera AJ, Albu J, Pi-Sunyer FX, Boozer CN. Sleeping metabolic rate in relation to body mass index and body composition. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2002 Mar;26(3):376-83.

These two studies demonstrated that SMR is not significantly different from RMR. These two studies also prove that your metabolic rate rises during sleep as you lose weight. Thin people have a higher basal metabolic rate during sleep than during the day!

Study 4:

Mischler I, Vermorel M, Montaurier C, Mounier R, Pialoux V, Pequignot JM, Cottet-Emard JM, Coudert J, Fellmann N. Prolonged daytime exercise repeated over 4 days increases sleeping heart rate and metabolic rate. Can J App Physiol. 2003 Aug;28(4):616-29.

This study demonstrated that exercise during the day significantly increases basal metabolic rates during sleep. This is another benefit of the great benefits of sports.

Conclusion: Studies have shown that basal metabolic rates do not decrease during sleep. The source of the myth is that these rates decrease only during the first half of sleep, but the overall result of burning rates during sleep is no different from those during the day.

But..what about eating carbohydrates before bed?

This is another version of the myth.. Carbohydrates before bed also automatically turn into fats. The promoters of this rumor claim that insulin sensitivity decreases during the evening, which leads to glucose being stored as fat. But this study:

Biston P, Van Cauter E, Ofek G, Linkowski P, Polonsky KS, Degaute JP. Diurnal variations in cardiovascular function and glucose regulation in normotensive humans. Hypertension. 1996 Nov;28(5):863-71.

It demonstrated that insulin sensitivity during the evening is not different from insulin sensitivity during the afternoon. And insulin sensitivity is high during the day only because of fasting 8 hours during sleep. Abstaining from eating for long hours improves insulin sensitivity.

Summary of the study: Insulin sensitivity does not decrease in the evening, but gradually improves during sleep. Which explains why insulin sensitivity is higher in the morning than at night (due to fasting 8 hours).

Study 7

Sofer S, Eliraz A, Kaplan S, Voet H, Fink G, Kima T, Madar Z. Greater weight loss and hormonal changes after 6 months diet with carbohydrates eaten mostly at dinner. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2011 Oct;19(10):2006-14.

This study was published in the Obesity International Journal. The researchers divided the volunteers into two groups. They put them on a low-calorie diet for 6 months. The two groups ate the same amounts of protein, fat and carbohydrates. But one group of them ate carbs divided throughout the day, and the other group ate 80% of their carbs during the evening.

The result:

The results showed that those who ate 80% of carbohydrates in the evening, lost more weight and a higher percentage of fat. Not only that, but during the 6 months they had a higher sense of satiety. The researchers explained this result that those who ate carbohydrates in the evening had higher levels of the hormone adiponectin, which is responsible for raising insulin sensitivity and burning fat. They also noticed an increase in leptin and HDL (good cholesterol) for this group.

Are you the type who is not convinced by studies? What about practical experiences?

Martin Berkhan, the Swedish nutrition expert and pioneer in Intermittent Fasting, eats 100% of his calories in the evening.

Ori Hofmekler, author of the famous “Warrior’s Diet” book, advises trainees to fast throughout the day and eat all calories 4 hours before bed.

Last word:

When the dieting doctor prescribes you a poor meal before bed, you will suffer stomach pains from severe hunger. Add to that significant insomnia and difficulty sleeping, which will put you out of order.

The main cause of obesity is eating more calories than your daily needs. If you eat a lot of calories, you will gain weight even if you skip dinner. And if you eat fewer calories than your daily needs, you will lose weight, regardless of the type of food or when it is eaten. Energy does not perish nor induced from nothing.

Eating at night is good for the body and may help you burn fat and stick to the diet in the long run. Satiety also leads to a deep and comfortable sleep.