Sept. 3, 2009 — Excessive late-night eating has long had a bad reputation, with studies showing it leads to weight gain.

Now, in a new study, researchers from Northwestern University have found that eating at the “wrong” time leads to more than twice as much weight gain, even when the overall calories consumed are the same as those eaten at appropriate times.

The study was conducted on mice separated into two groups (those who would normally eat at night and those who would normally eat during the day). The study showed rats who ate at the “wrong” times (day feeders who ate at night) gained almost twice as much weight as the other rats eating the same amount of food during the normal eating times.

Obesity and weight gain often go hand-in-hand with pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Although studies have not been done on humans, it makes sense that late night eating could also lead to abnormal weight gain in humans, too.

Source: Eat Late, Put on Weight? Study Shows Eating at the ‘Wrong’ Time of Day Could Lead to Weight Gain. By Kathleen Doheny WebMD Health New.