Late Night Snacks Can Lead to Weight Gain

Eat less, exercise more.

Now there is new evidence to support adding another "must" to the weight-loss mantra:

Eat at the right time of day!

How or why a person gains weight is very complicated. Researchers at the Center for Sleep and Circadian Biology, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, USA has found that eating at the wrong time of day might be contributing to weight gain.

They provided evidence that mice fed a high-fat diet only during their sleeping hours gain significantly more weight than mice fed only during their wakeful hour. Over a period of six weeks, both groups of mice were allowed to eat as much high-fat diet as they wanted during their daily 12-hour feeding phase. (Much like many humans, mice have a preference for high-fat food.) Food was not provided during the other 12 hours of their day.

The findings could have implications for developing strategies to combat obesity in humans.

But humans are not mice, you may counter.

Let’s take a look at shift workers. Their work schedules force them to eat at times that conflict with their natural body rhythms - they tend to be overweight.

Our circadian clock, or biological timing system, governs our daily cycles of feeding, activity and sleep, with respect to external dark and light cycles. Recent studies have found the body's internal clock also regulates energy use, suggesting the timing of meals may matter in the balance between caloric intake and expenditure.

Thus, better timing of meals, on top of exercise and eating wisely could be a critical element in slowing weight gain.

Deanna M. Arble, Joseph Bass, Aaron D. Laposky, Martha H. Vitaterna and Fred W. Turek. Circadian Timing of Food Intake Contributes to Weight Gain. Obesity, 2009, vol. 17, n^o11, pp. 2100-2102

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See “The Dangers of Belly Fat” published on February 5, 2010

Come in and talk to our pharmacists about the prescription medicine called orlistat.

Orlistat belongs to a group of medicines called lipase inhibitors. It works by preventing the absorption of dietary fat in your body rather than by suppressing your appetite. As a result of this mechanism of action, 30% of ingested dietary fat is not absorbed. Orlistat, therefore, reduces total energy intake to produce a significant weight loss.

Orlistat is used to assist with losing weight, weight maintenance and preventing weight regain in conjunction with a low-fat, well-balanced, calorie-controlled diet and exercise.