An early dinner could aid weight loss
If your New Year's weight loss resolution isn't going to well, when you eat could be the problem. According to new research, timing is everything when it comes to shifting those excess pounds, and an early lunch could give you an extra boost.
Pic: Corbis
Research conducted by Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, in collaboration with the University of Murcia and Tufts University found the late lunch favoured in Spain does little to aid weight loss.
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Of the 420 overweight Spanish dieters that took part in the study, those that ate an early lunch lost an extra 2kg over a period of 20 weeks than late eaters. Participants who ate their main meal before 3pm lost an average of 9.9kg, compared with 7.7kg shed by the late lunchers - amounting to the equivalent of nine per cent and 11.3 per cent of their body weight.
Furthermore, those who ate their main meal late tended to consumer fewer calories at breakfast, or even skip their first meal, and were found to have a lower estimated insulin sensitivity, which could lead to diabetes.
The timing of smaller nibbles eaten throughout the day appeared to have no bearing on diet success, according to the report, published in the International Journal of Obesity.
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Dr Frank Scheer of Harvard Medical School, who wrote the study, said: "This is the first large-scale prospective study to demonstrate that the timing of meals predicts weight-loss effectiveness.
"Our results indicate that late eaters displayed a slower weight-loss rate and lost significantly less weight than early eaters, suggesting that the timing of large meals could be an important factor in a weight loss program."
Are you currently on a diet? Have you found that eating early helps to shift excess weight? Leave your comments below...
