Previous evidence suggested that the timing of food intake can have a significant impact on circadian rhythms (i.e. the body’s internal daily clock) and therefore on metabolic processes within the body, potentially leading to an increased risk of being overweight or obese.
In the new study, researchers examined the eating habits of 1,620 children, which found no greater risk of being obese or overweight when eating dinner between 8pm and 10pm compared to eating between 2pm and 8pm.
Lead author of the study, Dr Gerda Pot, 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.”
However, it was also noted that as this is one of the first studies investigating this link, more research needs to be undertaken.