A recent study conducted in Delhi revealed how most adults eat more than three high-calorie meals with the largest portion of food being consumed at night. Eating foods like cooked rice and sweets late at night with fewer intervals between dinner and breakfast the next day could lead to metabolic disorders like obesity and diabetes. For this study, scientists from Delhi used cellphone camera as a new tool to understand the eating patterns. The findings were published in PLOS ONE.
Food and photos
About 100 adults, with no special medication, work-shift, non- diabetic with no smoking habits, were selected. The chosen women were neither pregnant nor had kids younger than one year of age. A camera phone was given to the participants and was asked to take pictures of all food, beverages and water intake for 21 days. The pictures were downloaded and the time, type of food taken and calorie value were studied. Only 28% of the daily calorie intake was at noon whereas between 7 and 11 pm it was 40%. “It is not just about what we eat, but also when we eat that determines our health,” said Dr. Neelu Jain Gupta, co-author from the University of Delhi.
Though participants said they ate in a breakfast-lunch-dinner pattern, the observations revealed significant variations. High calorie meals were eaten throughout the day at random times. The diversity of food consumed during day and night was also distinct with carbohydrate-rich foods consumed mainly at night. “Our metabolism tends to slow down in the later part of the day, but many people tend to eat snacks and heavy meal at night,” said Dr. Gupta.
Dr. Satchidananda Panda, a co-author of the paper, has created a user-friendly App called myCircardianClock that allows users to take pictures of everything they eat and drink and also note down their exercise and sleep timings. After at least 10 days of collecting data, the App starts providing feedback about daily activity patterns and this data can be used to understand how the daily behaviour influences health and well-being. “The purpose is to educate people about the need to monitor their eating habits. Studying this data will help understand the complex relationship between sleep, diet, and healthy living,” said Dr. Gupta.
Optimum intervals
According to Dr. V. Balaji, diabetologist at Dr. V. Seshiah and V. Balaji Diabetes Care Centre in Chennai, a gap of at least eight to ten hours is required between dinner and breakfast the next day. This time interval helps the body insulin to get back to its basal level for proper functioning the next day.Also, snacking between meals increases insulin production and in case of a family history of diabetes, heavy late-night dinner increases the risk of diabetes. Ideally, a four hour break is necessary between meals. Going to bed soon after a heavy dinner can upset the normal physiology and lead to obesity.
The researchers propose to carry out further studies with larger groups and broader diseases to find the connection between eating patterns and metabolic disorders.
