Scientists find optimal meal times for weight loss

An experiment on 16 overweight volunteers showed that eating late in the day leads to increased feelings of hunger, Cell Metabolism reported.

Participants in the experiment were asked to eat the same meals, but they were divided into groups. One group ate at the beginning of the day, and the other group ate four hours later. So, volunteers from the first sample ate at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., and volunteers from the second sample at 1 p.m., 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.

The participants were asked to mark when they felt hunger or the moment of appetite emergence. Blood tests, fat tissue samples, body temperature and energy expenditure were taken to objectively monitor their condition.

It turned out that eating later more than doubled the likelihood of hunger because of a decrease in the hormone leptin, which is responsible for satiety. Medical research showed that participants in the second group had a more pronounced increase in body fat as well as slower calorie burning - about 60 fewer calories.

Thus, the researchers concluded that eating earlier in the day is necessary to combat hunger.

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