Friday, December 5, 2014

Midnight Snacking Causes Weight Gain

A study was conducted by researchers at the Salk Institute testing whether or not eating snacks at night is a cause of obesity. The test was done on mice in 2012. Two groups of mice were both fed a high-fat diet, but one group was only allowed to eat the food for eight hours a day, while the other could eat any time they wanted. Both groups consumed the same number of calories, but the group of mice that could only eat for eight hours a day were much healthier and slimmer. In another study, 400 mice were studied with different sizes, diets, and time restrictions. The result was that no matter what the weight or diet of the mouse was, they gained less weight when their eating time was restricted. They also found that when there was less restrictions, like 15 hours instead of 9, the mice were much more similar to the unrestricted group. In addition to that result, the researchers then let all the mice have access to a high fat diet all day and the mice who had previously been on a time restricted diet gained less weight than the mice that had always been unrestricted. The next test they conducted was on the mice that had previously had an unrestricted diet. After only a few days of restricting their eating period to nine hours, they dropped their body weight by five percent. The conclusion was that the diet restrictions caused synchronization in the genes in the body, showing that although it matters what you eat, it matters even more when you eat.
         I chose this article because I think it’s interesting to understand how the body works and the effects of the food I’m eating. Because I am interested in effects of food in the human body, I also chose to do my science project on a similar topic. I liked the positive results of this experiment that could help many people become healthier even if they don’t have access to healthier food.

 Salk Institute for Biological Studies. "Another case against the midnight snack: Researchers tinker with a time-restricted diet in mice and find that it's remarkably forgiving." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 2 December 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141202123735.htm>.


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