http://www.nytimes.com/...9/health/19real.html?
July 19, 2005 The Claim: You Gain More Weight by Eating at Night By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
THE FACTS There must be something magic about 8 p.m. Citing sluggish metabolism at the end of the day or even the notion that no one burns calories in the middle of the night - sleepwalkers notwithstanding - scrupulous dieters for years have said that any calories consumed after that time are bound to count more.
But experts say a calorie at noon is no different from a calorie at night.
Arlene Spark, an associate professor of nutrition at Hunter College in New York, says some people who eat at night do so after skimping all day. When they finally eat at night, they are likely to grab the first thing in sight, which is usually junk food, Dr. Spark said.
There are also people who eat full meals during the day and get extra calories at night simply because they decide to eat again anyway.
People who shed pounds or maintain their weight, on the other hand, do not tend to eat as much at night, usually because they get the calories they need during the day. So by late evening, Dr. Spark said, they either have no cravings or they control them. In either case, they stay within their caloric limits.
Few studies have tested this in humans. But several tests on animals, including one at the Oregon Health & Science University in 2003, have shown that nighttime calories are no more fattening than daytime ones.
"At the end of the day, the calories you take in must equal the calories you expend," Dr. Spark said.
THE BOTTOM LINE Calories do not count more in the evening.
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“You can't coach desire.” --Dathan Ritzenhein
http://xtreme4.com/ -- an extreme ride for extreme change: go green
July 19, 2005 The Claim: You Gain More Weight by Eating at Night By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
THE FACTS There must be something magic about 8 p.m. Citing sluggish metabolism at the end of the day or even the notion that no one burns calories in the middle of the night - sleepwalkers notwithstanding - scrupulous dieters for years have said that any calories consumed after that time are bound to count more.
But experts say a calorie at noon is no different from a calorie at night.
Arlene Spark, an associate professor of nutrition at Hunter College in New York, says some people who eat at night do so after skimping all day. When they finally eat at night, they are likely to grab the first thing in sight, which is usually junk food, Dr. Spark said.
There are also people who eat full meals during the day and get extra calories at night simply because they decide to eat again anyway.
People who shed pounds or maintain their weight, on the other hand, do not tend to eat as much at night, usually because they get the calories they need during the day. So by late evening, Dr. Spark said, they either have no cravings or they control them. In either case, they stay within their caloric limits.
Few studies have tested this in humans. But several tests on animals, including one at the Oregon Health & Science University in 2003, have shown that nighttime calories are no more fattening than daytime ones.
"At the end of the day, the calories you take in must equal the calories you expend," Dr. Spark said.
THE BOTTOM LINE Calories do not count more in the evening.
----------
“You can't coach desire.” --Dathan Ritzenhein
http://xtreme4.com/ -- an extreme ride for extreme change: go green