Guardar un ayuno nocturno más largo y desayunar temprano podría relacionarse con un menor índice de masa corporal
To keep weight at bay, it is not only convenient to take into account what we eat, but also the times at which we do it. According to a study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity There are two specific habits that are associated with a lower body mass index (BMI) in the long term: keeping a Longer overnight fast and early breakfast . This research has been led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a center promoted by the «la Caixa» Foundation.
The study has had the participation of more than 7,000 people volunteers between 40 and 65 years old from the cohort GCAT | Genomes for life project led by the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP). In 2018, participants answered questionnaires about their weight and height, eating habits including meal times, other lifestyle habits, and socioeconomic position. In 2023, after five years, more than 3,000 participants made a follow-up visit, in which their measurements were recorded again and a new questionnaire was asked.
Interpretation of the results
“Our results, in line with those of other recent studies, suggest that lengthen the fast nightcould help maintain ahealthy weight as long as it is accompanied by an early dinner and early breakfast. We think this might be because eating earlier in the day aligns more with circadian rhythms and allows for better calorie burning and appetite regulation, which can help maintain a healthy weight. However, it is still soon to draw definitive conclusions Therefore, recommendations will have to wait until we have more robust evidence,” he explains. Luciana Pons-Muzzoresearcher at ISGlobal at the time of carrying out the study and currently at IESE Business School.
Differences by sex
Analysis of the data according to sex showed that, compared to men, in general, women showed lower BMIgreater adherence to the Mediterranean diet, less tendency to consume alcohol, poorer mental health and more likely to be in charge of supervising the home or family.
The team used a statistical technique called ‘analysis by cluster’ to group individuals with similar characteristics. From the results of this analysis, the authors’ attention was drawn to a small group of men whose first meal of the day was after 2:00 p.m. and who, on average, ate a 17 hour fast. Compared to the rest, this group of men tended to have less healthy lifestyles (more likely to smoke, drink alcohol, less physical activity, less adherence to the Mediterranean diet), and had lower levels of education and were more likely to be in the unemployment These patterns were not observed in any group of women.
About intermittent fasting
“There are various ways to practice what is known as ‘intermittent fasting’ and our study would be related to one of them, which is overnight fasting. What we observed in a subgroup of men who do intermittent fasting by skipping breakfast is that this practice has no effect on body weight. Other intervention studies in patients with obesity have shown that this tactic is not more effective than reducing calorie intake in reducing body weight in the long term,» he says. Camille Lassaleresearcher at ISGlobal and senior co-author of the study.
“Our research is part of an emerging field of research known as ‘chrononutrition‘, which focuses not only on analyzing what we eat, but also the hours of the day and the number of times we do it,» he points out. Anna Palomarresearcher at ISGlobal at the time of the study and currently at IDIAP Jordi Gol. “At the basis of this research is the knowledge that unusual food intake patterns can conflict with the circadian system, the set of internal clocks that regulate the cycles of night and day and the physiological processes that must accompany them. . ”, he adds.
Previous studies
This work offers continuity to a line of research by ISGlobal on chrononutrition, which in recent years has published two other studies with results in the same direction. They observed that early dinner and early breakfast were associated, respectively, with a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases and of type 2 diabetes .
Reference
Luciana Pons-Muzzo, Rafael de Cid, Mireia Obón-Santacana, Kurt Straif, Kyriaki Papantoniou, Isabel Santonja, Manolis Kogevinas, Anna Palomar-Cros & Camille Lassale. Sex-specific chrononutritional patterns and association with body weight in a general population in Spain (GCAT study). Law Int J Behav Nutr Phys 21, 102 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-024-01639-x
