Abstract

The time of food intake and its implications on health have recently been studied by several researchers. This implies that eating habits and health may depend on both when and what people consume. Although there isn't a set time for when you should stop eating at night, several studiestry to find better food habits. The objectives of the present study are to find the impact of late light eating through secondary data. Thisnarrative review based study has included research papers published from September 2017 to August 2022 (the previous 5 years). The English language articles were retrieved from NCBI electronic library. Overall 26 research articles are included in the study out of the articles 86 were fully studied. The findings of the current study indicate that eating late at night may cause acid reflux and have a detrimental impact on the control of blood sugar, blood pressure, and weight. Poor eating choices could be one of several possible causes of this. There is conflicting evidence on the ideal time to cease eating at night. Others contend that eating according to the body clock is preferable to intermittent fasting, which is used as a guide in some research.

• 1.   Okada C, Imano H, Muraki I, Yamada K, Iso H. The association of having a late dinner or bedtime snack and skipping breakfast with overweight in Japanese women. J Obes. 2019;2019:2439571.
• 2.   Basdeki ED, Koumi K, Tsirimiagkou C, Argyris A, Chrysostomou S, Sfikakis PP, et al. Late-night overeating or low-quality food choices late at night are associated with subclinical vascular damage in patients at increased cardiovascular risk. Nutrients. 2022;14(3):470.
• 3.   Kinsey AW, Ormsbee MJ. The health impact of nighttime eating: old and new perspectives. Nutrients. 2015;7(4):2648-62.
• 4.   Mirghani H. The effect of breakfast skipping and late night eating on body mass index and glycemic control among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Cureus. 2021;13(6):e15853.
• 5.   Yoshida J, Eguchi E, Nagaoka K, Ito T, Ogino K. Association of night eating habits with metabolic syndrome and its components: a longitudinal study. BMC Public Health. 2018;18(1):1366.
• 6.   Dashti HS, Gómez-Abellán P, Qian J, Esteban A, Morales E, Scheer FAJL, et al. Late eating is associated with cardiometabolic risk traits, obesogenic behaviors, and impaired weight loss. Am J Clin Nutr. 2021;113(1):154-161.
• 7.   Kumar I, Yadav P, Gautam M, Panwar H. Impact of heat on naturally present digestive enzymes in food. Int J Food Nutr Diet. 2022;10(2):57–63.
• 8.   Chung N, Bin YS, Cistulli PA, Chow CM. Does the proximity of meals to bedtime influence the sleep of adults? A cross-sectional survey of university students. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(8):2677.
• 9.   Kumar I, Gautam M. Determinants of dietary diversity score for the rural households of Uttar Pradesh State. Int J Food Nutr Diet. 2022;10(1):9–16.
• 10.   Nogueira LFR, Pellegrino P, Cipolla-Neto J, Moreno CRC, Marqueze EC. Timing and composition of last meal before bedtime affect sleep parameters of night workers. Clocks Sleep. 2021;3(4):536-546.
• 11.   Chung N, Bin YS, Cistulli PA, Chow CM. Does the proximity of meals to bedtime influence the sleep of adults? A cross-sectional survey of university students. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(8):2677.
• 12.   Nogueira LFR, Pellegrino P, Cipolla-Neto J, Moreno CRC, Marqueze EC. Timing and composition of last meal before bedtime affect sleep parameters of night workers. Clocks Sleep. 2021;3(4):536-546.
• 13.   St-Onge MP, Mikic A, Pietrolungo CE. Effects of diet on sleep quality. Adv Nutr. 2016;7(5):938-49.
• 14.   Duan D, Gu C, Polotsky VY, Jun JC, Pham LV. Effects of dinner timing on sleep stage distribution and EEG power spectrum in healthy volunteers. Nat Sci Sleep. 2021;13:601-612.
• 15.   Kim S, Kim J, Chang H. Do types of snacks, sleep hours, and eating places affect nutritional intake and its adequacy in adolescents? Nutr Res Pract. 2021;15(3):396-410.
• 16.   Iao SI, Jansen E, Shedden K, O'Brien LM, Chervin RD, Knutson KL, et al. Associations between bedtime eating or drinking, sleep duration and wake after sleep onset: findings from the American time use survey. Br J Nutr. 2021;127(12):1-10.
• 17.   Binks H, E Vincent G, Gupta C, Irwin C, Khalesi S. Effects of diet on sleep: A narrative review. Nutrients. 2020;12(4):936.
• 18.   Kelly KP, McGuinness OP, Buchowski M, Hughey JJ, Chen H, Powers J, et al. Eating breakfast and avoiding late-evening snacking sustains lipid oxidation. PLoS Biol. 2020;18(2):e3000622.
• 19.   Thomas EA, Zaman A, Cornier MA, Catenacci VA, Tussey EJ, Grau L, et al. Later meal and sleep timing predict higher percent body fat. Nutrients. 2020;13(1):73.
• 20.   Lopez-Minguez J, Gómez-Abellán P, Garaulet M. Timing of breakfast, lunch, and dinner: effects on obesity and metabolic risk. Nutrients. 2019;11(11):2624.
• 21.   Grummon AH, Sokol RL, Lytle LA. Is late bedtime an overlooked sleep behavior? Investigating associations between sleep timing, sleep duration, and eating behaviors in adolescence and adulthood. Public Health Nutr. 2021;24(7):1671-1677.
• 22.   Nakajima K. Unhealthy eating habits around sleep and sleep duration: To eat or fast? World J Diabetes. 2018;9(11):190-194.

Data Sharing Statement

Funding