Study: Dieters who ate lunch earlier lost more weight

Dieters have long been told not to eat too many calories late in the day. Now, a new study suggests that dieters who eat lunch early lose more weight than those who eat a late lunch.

"We should start to consider meal timing in addition to calories and meal composition when thinking about weight loss," says the study's senior author Frank Scheer, an associate neuroscientist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Among the findings reported Tuesday in the International Journal of Obesity:

-- Those who ate lunch earlier in the day lost an average of 22 pounds in 20 weeks; those who ate lunch later lost about 17 pounds.

-- The late eaters consumed fewer calories during breakfast and were more likely to skip breakfast than early eaters. (Dieters are often advised to eat breakfast.)

-- The late lunch eaters had lower insulin sensitivity, which is a risk factor for diabetes.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/29/eating-lunch-weight-loss/1871331/