Circadian Timing of Food Intake Contributes to Weight Gain

By D. Arble, J. Bass, A. Laposky, M. Vitaterna, F. W. Turek. Obesity, 2009

954 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Studies of body weight regulation have focused almost entirely on caloric intake and energy expenditure. However, a number of recent studies in animals linking energy regulation and the circadian clock at the molecular, physiological, and behavioral levels raise the possibility that the timing of food intake itself may play a significant role in weight gain. The present study focused on the role of the circadian phase of food consumption in weight gain. We provide evidence that nocturnal mice fed a high‐fat diet only during the 12‐h light phase gain significantly more weight than mice fed only during the 12‐h dark phase. A better understanding of the role of the circadian system for weight gain could have important implications for developing new therapeutic strategies for combating the obesity epidemic facing the human population today.

Subfields: Aging, Endocrine and Autonomic Systems, Physiology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/3c592b3c6db59f1c42ada1c7927c72a2fced9116

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Aging

1. Satchidananda Panda

In Endocrine and Autonomic Systems

1. Satchidananda Panda
2. J. Y. Chiang
3. Tiangang Li
4. S. Gill
5. Luciano DiTacchio
6. Christopher Vollmers
7. D. Cummings

In Physiology

1. Satchidananda Panda
2. S. Gill
3. J. Y. Chiang
4. Tiangang Li
5. Amir Zarrinpar
6. A. Chaix
7. D. Cummings
8. R. Eckel

Citations in the corpus

• Time restricted feeding without reducing caloric intake prevents metabolic diseases in mice fed a high fat diet (2012, positive): “Limiting access to HFD during day or night for up to 6 weeks shows some improvement in body weight regulation (Arble et al., 2009; Bray et al., 2010).”
• Joint international consensus statement for ending stigma of obesity (2020, background): “Additional evidence is now also available indicating other possible causes and contributors to obesity, including genetic 84 and epigenetic factors 85 , foodborne factors 86 , sleep deprivation and circadian dysrhythmia 87 , psychological stress, endocrine disruptors, medications, and intrauterine a”
• Light at night increases body mass by shifting the time of food intake (2010, background): “Metabolism and the circadian clock are intrinsically related (32), with desynchrony of feeding and activity causing metabolic alterations (17, 33).”
• Timing of food intake predicts weight loss effectiveness (2013, background): “Recent studies link energy regulation to the circadian clock at the behavioural, physiological, and molecular levels (6–9), emphasizing that the timing of food intake itself may play a significant role in weight regulation (10).”
• Impact of insufficient sleep on total daily energy expenditure, food intake, and weight gain (2013, result): “Our findings add to the growing body of evidence from epidemiological (26) and nonhuman models (27, 28) that indicate that overeating at night may contribute to weight gain.”
• Bile Acid Signaling in Metabolic Disease and Drug Therapy (2014, background): “Caloric intake and locomotor activity did not vary significantly between treatments, although day-fed mice trended toward being less active, which could contribute to decreased energy expenditure (Arble et al., 2009).”