Should I eat at night?

taso42

Timing and frequency of meals is largely irrelevant. What is most important is overall nutrition. It does not matter how often you eat or what time you eat as long as you are meeting your target.

The only time eating late at night might be an issue is if it causes you indigestion or keeps you from sleeping comfortably. Otherwise, there is no reason to fear eating late at night.

CaptainGordo

"When total calories are kept constant, does eating at night (whether just before bed or in the middle of the night) lead to weight gain?...

A 1997 review article summarizing the results of past research concluded that meal frequency - whether during the day or at night - had no clear effect on body weight. That is, people who chose to eat frequently, regardless of the time of day, had no higher rate of obesity than those who ate fewer large meals.

In a study of more than 2,000 middle-aged men and women, 9% of women and 7.4% of men described 'getting up at night to eat.' Overall, there was no difference in weight gain between those who did and those who did not. A study in 2004 of more than 800 men and women noted that the more people ate in the morning, the less they tended to eat during the course of a day, while people who ate more at night tended to eat more overall. A trial from January 2005 found that eating late at night was not associated with weight gain even among people with 'night eating syndrome'...

It is possible that, for some people, eating at night is associated with weight gain. Perhaps they find it easier to be careful about portion size and food choices during the day but simply 'lose it' at day's end. For some, the structure of three meals a day may make it easier to avoid excessive calorie intake. But it's probably a myth that eating before bed has a unique ability to promote weight gain compared with eating at other times of the day. Although scientific studies someday may prove that calories ingested before bed are handled differently than calories ingested at other times, evidence for this commonly held belief is lacking. For now, it's safe to assume that one's weight reflects the balance between calories burned and calories consumed over time, regardless of when you choose to eat."

InteliHealth: Does Nighttime Noshing Make You Fat?
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSI/9273/35323/432544.html?d=dmtHMSContent

"Myth: Eating after 8 p.m. causes weight gain.
Fact: It does not matter what time of day you eat. It is what and how much you eat and how much physical activity you do during the whole day that determines whether you gain, lose, or maintain your weight. No matter when you eat, your body will store extra calories as fat."

NIDDK (National Institutes of Health): Weight-loss and Nutrition Myths
http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/myths.htm

"Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper' - is there any truth to this?

[Dietitian Dr Trent Watson] sets the record straight: "It's the total energy you eat throughout the day that's important. You can eat all your daily kilojoules after 6pm, and you won't gain any more weight than if you ate it earlier in the day. Weight gain occurs when you consume more energy than you expend."

The Daily Telegraph: Top 10 food myths busted
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,20004610-5006047,00.html

"Subjects who eat late in the evening may increase the amount of glucose stored in muscle as glycogen. In humans, muscle glycogen fluctuates in accordance with periods of muscle activity and subsequent carbohydrate consumption. Data suggest that the consumption of carbohydrate-rich foods in the late evening leads to increased glycogen levels in the muscles. Unless this stored glycogen is burned as fuel, it will ultimately be stored as fat. Therefore, consumption of late-evening meals with carbohydrate-rich foods may also be related to obesity through its effect on hormonal regulation of energy and lipid metabolism. However, we found that the interval of time between the last episode of eating and the time to bed was not associated with the risk of obesity. Further investigation is warranted to examine the association of this interval, as well as the nutrient composition (i.e., percentage of calories from carbohydrate) of the last eating episode, with obesity."

American Journal of Epidemiology: Association between Eating Patterns and Obesity in a Free-living US Adult Population
http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/158/1/85

"The purpose of this study was to determine whether meal ingestion pattern [large morning meals (AM) vs. large evening meals (PM)] affects changes in body weight, body composition or energy utilization during weight loss. Ten women completed a metabolic ward study of 3-wk weight stabilization followed by 12 wk of weight loss with a moderately energy restricted diet [mean energy intake ± SD = 107 ± 6 kJ/(kg·d)] and regular exercise. The weight loss phase was divided into two 6-wk periods. During period 1, 70% of daily energy intake was taken as two meals in the AM (n = 4) or in the PM (n = 6). Subjects crossed over to the alternate meal time in period 2. Both weight loss and fat-free mass loss were greater with the AM than the PM meal pattern: 3.90 ± 0.19 vs. 3.27 ± 0.26 kg/6 wk, P < 0.05, and 1.28 ± 0.14 vs. 0.25 ± 0.16 kg/6 wk, P < 0.001, respectively. Change in fat mass and loss of body energy were affected by order of meal pattern ingestion. The PM pattern resulted in greater loss of fat mass in period 1 (P < 0.01) but not in period 2. Likewise, resting mid-afternoon fat oxidation rate was higher with the PM pattern in period 1 (P < 0.05) but not in period 2, corresponding with the fat mass changes. To conclude, ingestion of larger AM meals resulted in slightly greater weight loss, but ingestion of larger PM meals resulted in better maintenance of fat-free mass. Thus, incorporation of larger PM meals in a weight loss regimen may be important in minimizing the loss of fat-free mass."

The Journal of Nutrition: Weight Loss is Greater with Consumption of Large Morning Meals and Fat-Free Mass Is Preserved with Large Evening Meals in Women on a Controlled Weight Reduction Regimen
http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/127/1/75

So it appears that for most of us there's nothing wrong with eating at night, as long as the entire day's calorie count is appropriate. However, there may be health risks associated with nighttime eating for people who have GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) and/or asthma.

"Compared to nonasthmatics, asthmatics have significantly more frequent and more severe day and night GER symptoms and significantly more of the pulmonary symptoms (nocturnal suffocation, cough, or wheezing) so often attributed to GER. The habit of eating before bedtime appears in asthmatics to have serious and life-threatening consequences."

American Journal of Gastroenterology: Asthmatics have more nocturnal gasping and reflux symptoms than nonasthmatics, and they are related to bedtime eating.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=15128338&query_hl=6&itool=pubmed_docsum