Friday, July 1, 2016

Eating A Late Dinner Not The Worst Offense

According to a study published recently in the British Journal of Nutrition, eating late suppers may not be a recipe for childhood obesity. Previous thinking had suggested that eating meals later in the evening, when activity levels tend to be lower, would make one more prone to gaining unwanted weight. Busy schedules of parents and multiple activities for children can sometimes tend to push dinner to later hours than what is commonly practiced. However, many other factors could also affect weight gain such as the particular food choices and the amount of calories consumed, but the study was only evaluating the one parameter of timing of the evening meal.
British researchers looked at data from more than 1,600 children, aged 4 to 18. They found that the risk of being overweight or obesity was no higher among those who had meals between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. than among those who ate between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Expectations were that there would be an association between eating later and being more likely to be overweight, but it was found that this was not the case. This may also have been due to the limited number of children consuming their evening meal after 8 p.m.

As always, food choices will have a direct impact on weight irrespective of calorie content or timing alone. Diets or meals that are heavy in carbohydrates, processed ingredients, sugars and unhealthy fats will always be detrimental regardless of timing of when they are consumed. Focusing on providing lean, healthy proteins, an abundance of vegetables, moderate amounts of carbohydrates and fruits and plenty of water will help ensure the children are getting the best nutrition to support their bodies without an excess of unneeded calories.

Activity levels of children will also have an impact. A child that is coming home from an hour or two of soccer practice will be more likely to better utilize the calories consumed than a child who has been sitting in front of the television or computer since they got home from school. Encouraging activity will also help stimulate metabolism and help build healthy habits to lead them away from the daily routines that promote a sedentary lifestyle. And if meals do need to be consumed later, it is advisable to try and have them at least 2-3 hours before bed time to allow the body to properly digest the food consumed so that sleep time can be devoted to healing, repair and relaxation for the body.

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