Question: Is eating late at night bad for us?
I want to know if it is true that eating after 7 o'clock pm is bad for us? What are the side affects of eating late at night?
Samantha - About.com User
Answer: An occasional late night snack is fine as long as you choose healthy foods and you are at a healthy weight. People who work in the afternoons or evenings eat late at night much of the time without any problems. The problem occurs for some people who keep to their healthy diets during the day, but at night they begin to snack and then end up consuming too many calories and their weight goes up. This might just be a habit to eat while watching television or maybe due to sugar or other food cravings.
While an occasional night of over-eating may not be too much of a problem for most of us, there is a disorder called night-eating syndrome. People with night-eating syndrome consume at least 25 to 50% of their daily calories after their regular dinnertime, almost every night. Night-eating syndrome patients also tend to also suffer from depression, low self-esteem and obesity. If you find that you eat most of your calories at night and you have diabetes or weight related problems, you need to speak to your doctor.
Sources:
Morse SA, Ciechanowski PS, Katon WJ, Hirsch IB. "Isn't this just bedtime snacking? The potential adverse effects of night-eating symptoms on treatment adherence and outcomes in patients with diabetes." Diabetes Care. 2006 Aug;29(8):1800-4.
Gluck ME, Geliebter A, Satov T. "Night eating syndrome is associated with depression, low self-esteem, reduced daytime hunger, and less weight loss in obese outpatients." Obes Res. 2001 Apr;9(4):264-7.
