You will definitely stop eating at night when you find out the results of this study.

From dinner to midnight snack – one step. And according to a new study published in the journal Cell Metabolism, it absolutely should not be done!

The saying that dinner should be given to the enemy has been around for many years. This popular wisdom is confirmed by the research of scientists who have found that late meals increase the risk of obesity. However, until recently no one has tried to figure out why this is happening. Everyone thought it was just extra calories no matter when they hit the stomach.

You have probably heard more than once that it does not matter when a person sits at the table – you just need not to exceed the daily intake of KBJU consumed. However, a team of experts from different countries set out to understand how when we eat affects our bodies. The authors of the study studied three factors: appetite, energy expenditure (ie the number of calories burned) and molecular changes in adipose tissue.

16 people became “experimental” – some were obese, others had a BMI that did not exceed the normal range. The same diet was developed for everyone, and scientists also strictly controlled the amount of physical activity and sleep. The subjects were divided into two groups: the participants of the “early” dinner at 5:00 p.m., the “evening” – at 9:00 p.m. Men and women constantly noted their level of hunger, all constantly took blood tests. In addition, the researchers measured the body temperature and energy consumption of people, some were taken for analysis of adipose tissue.

Subjects who ate dinner at 9 p.m. experienced the following effects:

In other words, dinner time dramatically affects how we burn calories and store fat. The study authors note that further study of the issue with a large number of subjects is needed. However, preliminary results suggest that it is better to refuse late dinners – they do not affect the body in the best way.