UK Wedding News
17/05/2016
New research has suggested that there is no significant link between eating dinner after 8pm and obesity in children.
The study, 'The timing of the evening meal: how is this associated with weight status in UK children?', has been published in the British Journal of Nutrition.
Previously, evidence had suggested that the timing of food intake can have a large impact on circadian rhythms – or the body's internal daily clock. As a result, this could affect metabolic processes within the body and potentially leading to an increased risk of being overweight or obese.
As the evidence from studies in children is limited, however, researchers at King's College London decided to see if there were any links between the timing of children's evening meals and obesity.
A total of 1,620 children – 768 aged between four and 10, and 852 aged between 11 and 18 – were examined using data from the UK's National Diet and Nutrition Survey Rolling Programme collected between 2008 and 2012.
The survey gathered information annually from food diaries in which children or their parents recorded their dietary intake and meal timings over a four-day period. The survey also collected measurements of weight and height which were used to calculate the BMI of the children.
The findings revealed that the data showed no greater risk of being obese or overweight when eating dinner between 8pm and 10pm, compared to eating between 2pm and 8pm for either of the age groups studied.
There were also no significant differences in the mean daily energy intakes for those who ate their dinner before 8pm, and those who ate later.
However, there are limitations of this study, including potential under-reporting or misreporting of food intakes in the food diaries collected as part of the national survey. For example, the authors did not examine potential factors like skipping breakfast, levels of physical activity or duration of sleep.
The team added that more research is needed to investigate the influence of the timing of eating on childhood obesity.
Dr Gerda Pot, Visiting Lecturer in the Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences Division at King's College, and lead author of the study, said: "The findings of our study are surprising. We expected to find an association between eating later and being more likely to be overweight but actually found that this was not the case. This may be due to the limited number of children consuming their evening meal after 8pm in this cohort.
"Alongside changes in dietary quality and levels of physical activity, meal timing is one of many possible factors that has been suggested as influencing the trends in weight gain seen in children in the UK.
"However, the significance of its role is under-researched. As this is one of the first studies investigating this link, it would be useful to repeat the analysis in other studies.
"We are currently also using data from this survey to look at another important aspect of children's food habits, the consumption of breakfast, to investigate the impact of eating breakfast on children's daily calorie intake and overall dietary quality. And we are conducting analyses on the impact of sleep on obesity."
The full study, 'The timing of the evening meal: how is this associated with weight status in UK children?' can be viewed here.
(JP/MH)
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'No Link' Between Late Dinners And Childhood Obesity
New research has suggested that there is no significant link between eating dinner after 8pm and obesity in children.
The study, 'The timing of the evening meal: how is this associated with weight status in UK children?', has been published in the British Journal of Nutrition.
Previously, evidence had suggested that the timing of food intake can have a large impact on circadian rhythms – or the body's internal daily clock. As a result, this could affect metabolic processes within the body and potentially leading to an increased risk of being overweight or obese.
As the evidence from studies in children is limited, however, researchers at King's College London decided to see if there were any links between the timing of children's evening meals and obesity.
A total of 1,620 children – 768 aged between four and 10, and 852 aged between 11 and 18 – were examined using data from the UK's National Diet and Nutrition Survey Rolling Programme collected between 2008 and 2012.
The survey gathered information annually from food diaries in which children or their parents recorded their dietary intake and meal timings over a four-day period. The survey also collected measurements of weight and height which were used to calculate the BMI of the children.
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The findings revealed that the data showed no greater risk of being obese or overweight when eating dinner between 8pm and 10pm, compared to eating between 2pm and 8pm for either of the age groups studied.
There were also no significant differences in the mean daily energy intakes for those who ate their dinner before 8pm, and those who ate later.
However, there are limitations of this study, including potential under-reporting or misreporting of food intakes in the food diaries collected as part of the national survey. For example, the authors did not examine potential factors like skipping breakfast, levels of physical activity or duration of sleep.
The team added that more research is needed to investigate the influence of the timing of eating on childhood obesity.
Dr Gerda Pot, Visiting Lecturer in the Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences Division at King's College, and lead author of the study, said: "The findings of our study are surprising. We expected to find an association between eating later and being more likely to be overweight but actually found that this was not the case. This may be due to the limited number of children consuming their evening meal after 8pm in this cohort.
"Alongside changes in dietary quality and levels of physical activity, meal timing is one of many possible factors that has been suggested as influencing the trends in weight gain seen in children in the UK.
"However, the significance of its role is under-researched. As this is one of the first studies investigating this link, it would be useful to repeat the analysis in other studies.
"We are currently also using data from this survey to look at another important aspect of children's food habits, the consumption of breakfast, to investigate the impact of eating breakfast on children's daily calorie intake and overall dietary quality. And we are conducting analyses on the impact of sleep on obesity."
The full study, 'The timing of the evening meal: how is this associated with weight status in UK children?' can be viewed here.
(JP/MH)
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