Nighttime eating: commonly observed and related to weight gain in an inpatient food intake study
Open accessAbstract
Background Nighttime food intake has rarely been studied in inpatient settings and only one study observed a relation between self-reported nighttime eating and weight gain.Objective We investigated the prevalence of nighttime eating and its effect on weight change.Design Healthy nondiabetic Pima Indians (n = 117; 67 M, 50 F) and whites (n = 43; 29 M, 13 F) were admitted to a clinical research unit. After consuming a standardized diet for 3 d, participants ate ad libitum from a computer-operated vending machine that recorded the time of food selection. Energy intake was calculated as mean kcal/d. Follow-up weight was available for 94 volunteers.Results Fifty-five subjects (36%) were nighttime eaters (NEs; persons who ate between 2300 and 0500 on > or =1 of the 3 d). Prevalence was similar among whites and Pima Indians (37% and 35%, respectively). There were no significant differences in body mass index or percentage body fat between NEs and non-NEs. NEs consumed more calories per day (4758) than did non-NEs (4244; P = 0.02), but the percentage of calories from macronutrients did not differ. NEs consumed approximately 15% (690 kcal) of their daily energy during nighttime episodes. After control for baseline weight and follow-up time (x +/- SD: 3.4 +/- 1.8 y), NEs (n = 29) gained more weight (6.2 kg) than did non-NEs (n = 65; 1.7 kg; P = 0.03).Conclusions Nighttime eating was common, and it predicted weight gain. It remains to be determined whether this behavior indicates abnormal sleep patterns leading to nighttime wakefulness and food intake in those prone to weight gain.
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Later meal timing has been associated with weight gain.
“This is important because later meal timing has been associated with weight gain [29] as well as resistance to weight loss interventions [30].”
From Smoking, screen-based sedentary behavior, and diet associated with habitual sleep duration and chronotype: data from the UK Biobank (2016) · cites this paper as [29]
Negative outcomes have been demonstrated in response to large mixed meals in populations that consume a majority of their daily food intake during the night.
“Indeed, negative outcomes have been demonstrated in response to large mixed meals in populations that consume a majority of their daily food intake during the night.”
From The Health Impact of Nighttime Eating: Old and New Perspectives (2015) · cites this paper as [16]
NES is associated with obesity in some studies.
“Similarly, NES is associated with obesity in some studies [16,28,29].”
From The Health Impact of Nighttime Eating: Old and New Perspectives (2015) · cites this paper as [16]
Some epidemiological data suggests that consuming a higher proportion of calories later in the day, as opposed to earlier in the day, is associated with weight gain.
“Indeed, some epidemiological data suggests that consuming a higher proportion of calories later in the day, as opposed to earlier in the day, is associated weight gain [13,14,15,16,17].”
From The Health Impact of Nighttime Eating: Old and New Perspectives (2015) · cites this paper as [16]
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- Authors
- Gluck, M. E., Venti, C. A., Salbe, A. D., & Krakoff, J.
- Affiliations
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- Corresponding author
- Gluck, Marci E
- Venue
- The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2008-10
- Volume
- 88
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 900-905
- ISSN
- 0002-9165 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6322536
- OpenAlex
- W2158254010
- Cited by
- 126
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 5.41
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (Z99 DK999999)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Dietary Effects on Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Keywords
- nighttime eating, weight gain, energy intake, Pima Indians, macronutrient composition, sleep patterns, body mass index, fat mass
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Feeding and Eating Disorders, Energy Intake, Circadian Rhythm, Eating, Female, Food Preferences, Humans, Indians, North American, Male, Obesity, Sex Factors, Sleep Wake Disorders, Time Factors, Weight Gain, Prevalence
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