Losing weight is hard, but weight watchers may now have a new tool: skipping supper.
What Are the Benefits of Skipping Supper?
Researchers report that eating dinner early, or even skipping supper altogether helps dieters feel less hungry and burn more fat. The study was small, with just 11 people.
How the Study Worked:
During four days of the study, they restricted their eating to the hours between 8 am and 2 pm. During another four days, they ate between the hours of 8 am and 8 pm. Their calorie intake was the same during both trial periods, and their reactions and metabolism were studied closely.
What Did They Find?
Previous research was done on rodents. Restricting the amount of time they had to eat led to greater energy expenditure during the rest of the day. The investigators wanted to know if this effect would also be relevant for human beings.
The research found that energy expenditure was no higher when people ate early, but the volunteers oxidized more fat. This metabolic difference can help with weight loss, although the study did not run long enough to measure changes in weight.
In addition, the volunteers rated their hunger level throughout the day. This varied less when they ate early. The scientists conclude that timing of meals makes a difference for metabolism.
Annual Meeting at ObesityWeek 2016, New Orleans, LA, Nov., 2016
Since this study is so small, we have to consider this research as preliminary. However, previous research has found that eating the largest meal of the day at midday rather than in the evening offered weight loss benefits. Altering the daily meal pattern by eating a larger meal at lunchtime instead of in the evening might be a worthwhile experiment.
