WEIGHT loss specialists, fitness writers, diet gurus, and studies have been going back and forth regarding the issue of late-night snacking.

On one side, we have the traditional dieting concept, promoting the doctrine of eating after 6:30 pm or 7:00 pm, or late night in general, will make you gain weight or stop you from losing weight. On the other side, there is a basic idea which is becoming increasingly popular, that your body fat levels are the result of total calories ingested minus the total calories expended in a day, and that the time of day is of no consequence.

So, who is correct? Can they both be right? Well, let’s look at what we know.

Circadian cycles

The human circadian cycle is our biological rhythm — a 24-hour cycle of physiological processes which tells our body when to sleep, rise, eat, and recover. These rhythms are a part of life and can be seen in many plant and animal species as well. It is believed that when we eat close to bedtime our bodies will choose not to use the calories ingested, but store them instead as fat.

There is a direct and extremely important connection between the circadian cycle, mental energy, cognitive function, alertness, and recovery.

In an Antarctica study on shift workers, after meal (postprandial), hormone and metabolic responses were tested under atypical circadian conditions, abnormal metabolic responses and risk-increasing levels of glucose and insulin levels were observed.

But let us look specifically at the effect of lessened metabolism during our sleep?

The effect of sleep

In sleep, there are two major defined stages: Non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) and rapid eye movement sleep. NREM is comprised of three additional stages — N1, N2 and N3. N3 is known as slow wave sleep.

The timing and architecture of these stages are largely affected by variables including nutrition, genetics, gender, and psychological and physiological states. The general belief is that during normal sleep we will only see a 15 per cent reduction in our basal metabolism; that is, you will burn 15 per cent less calories in sustaining your life.

Metabolism is a range of processes which require energy (calories) — these include anabolic (building up) and catabolic (breaking down) processes. These processes result in the formation of free radicals, which results in cell damage. In short, it is believed that the reduced metabolic rate and lower brain temperature during sleep create an opportunity for repairing the damage done during awake hours and more metabolically active periods.

Consequently, we see that there is a strong argument for reducing the frequency of high calories before bedtime, especially when you factor in that during sleeping hours you are not just a couch potato but rather a bed potato, burning even fewer calories thanks to the lessened activity.

How does late-night eating hurt us?

Significant studies have been conducted on this — some small, some large, but overall researchers have found:

• Eating the same foods late at night results in higher glucose and insulin levels connected to type 2 diabetes;

• Evidence that poor meal timing may also affect cholesterol levels, which can increase the risk of stroke and heart disease;

• Late-night eating triggers next day cravings;

• Statistical connections with late-night eating and obesity;

•Research with two test groups — non-late-night eating and late-night eating — which asked them to eat the same three healthy meals and two snacks per day, showed that the late-night eating group had a notable increase in weight relative to the non-late-night group. Additionally, the late-night group saw an increase in their insulin, glucose and cholesterol levels.

• Late-night eating also adversely affected memory;

• Psychologists have identified a connection to unusual dreams;

• Disrupted sleep patterns;

• A direct medical connection to impaired digestive health, acid reflux in particular, (which is potentially cancer causing);

• Many people eat late as part of destressing/decompressing or social routines, often leading to making generally unhealthy food choices;

• Late eaters often have a less than optimal daytime eating routine, influenced by work or other busy-inducing activities, leading to poor daytime nutrition, stoking less healthy eating preferences and habits.

With all this being tested and true ,what can the possible argument be in favour of late-night eating? Well, as with all studies, there are results supporting both sides.

Fitz-George Rattray is the director of Intekai Academy, which is focused on helping people live a healthy lifestyle through nutrition and weight management. If you are interested in losing weight or living a healthier lifestyle, give them a call at 968-8238, or visit their website at intekaiacademy.org .