Why late dinners may not harm our health

IT IS familiar advice that eating late at night can cause weight gain and health complications.

But research has now found it’s perfectly fine to finish dinner at 9.30pm – if you also have a late breakfast the next day.

Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, conducted a study of 80,000 adults in the UK. He looked at different eating times and the windows of time in which people eat.

The full results, collected through personalised nutrition company Zoe, will not be published until later this year but preliminary findings show some can finish their evening meal as late as 9.30pm – as many do on the Continent – while remaining healthy and avoiding weight issues.

The key is simply to have a late breakfast, ideally at 11.30am or later, to achieve the 14-hour fasting window which evidence suggests is achievable for most people and good for metabolism.

In the study, this fasting period was broadly effective for most regardless of how late they stopped eating at night. The idea that an earlier dinner is healthier is based on very small studies of mainly young people, which have not accounted for fasting windows or breakfast timing, according to Professor Spector. And these studies show only a slight advantage of eating dinner earlier so he believes the benefits have been exaggerated.

Professor Spector, author of the book Food for Life: The New Science of Eating Well, is a champion of time-restricted eating, which many studies have found is helpful for metabolic health and losing weight. And in the study, those eating late but fasting for 14 hours a day reported having more energy. Professor Spector suggests our gut microbes, like us, have a circadian rhythm and need a rest from eating, but that people can decide when to time that rest period depending on their own daily schedules.

He said: ‘People often eat late because of jobs and children and they shouldn’t feel guilty about it. The important thing is not to snack at night, to try not to eat breakfast early and to try not to go to bed within two hours of eating dinner.’