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Beware the late-night snack attack!

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You’d never eat two dinners at once, right?

But maybe you (inadvertently) already do: research by the University of Texas found that most people down 42 per cent of their daily kilojoules during and after dinner. And people with a condition dubbed “night eating syndrome” can consume 56 per cent of their kilojoules after 8pm, reports the Journal of the American Medical Association. Be honest: when was the last time you had breakfast like a queen and dinner “like a pauper”?

The urge to overeat after dark might not be your fault. Blame evolution: humans were originally conditioned to feast after sunset so they’d have the energy to get through the night. Some scientists believe that’s why the body’s hunger cycle still peaks at around 8pm. It’s also why people might feel more cravings but less satisfaction when dining in the evening – driving them to eat, eat and eat some more. Trouble is, modern habits only make things worse. Daytime dieting, for instance, magnifies that 8pm urge, causing people to give in and binge. Even non-dieters often undereat during the day only to overeat at night, thanks to skipped breakfasts, stress and high-kilojoule snacks, says Dr Yoni Freedhoff, author of The Diet Fix: Why Diets Fail and How to Make Yours Work.

It turns out that for everyone – whether or not they’re overweight – it’s not just what you eat that’s important, but when you eat. Sure, night-time eating can cause your weight to creep up, but it can also boost your risk of diabetes, heart disease and depression.


Eating on autopilot

It’s not surprising that hoovering food after dark is consistently associated with weight gain and obesity, as per the International Journal of Obesity and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Your activity levels drop in the evening, leaving you less able to burn off surplus kilojoules.

Eating loads at night also lowers your body’s production of two key chemicals: melatonin and leptin. The first, a sleep hormone, is what makes you drowsy come bedtime; lower levels leave you more alert. At the same time, reduced levels of leptin, a satiety hormone, mean your brain isn’t getting the message that you’re full. In other words, the more you eat, the less you sleep. And the less you sleep, the more likely you are to reach for another snack (and another!) When extended, this cycle can lead to sleep deprivation or, eventually, anxiety, depression or cognitive decline.

Perhaps more alarming is the way night-time overeating affects your levels of insulin, the hormone that helps cells pull sugar out of your bloodstream to use as energy. As the sun sets, your body starts to power down for the night, which makes cells more resistant to insulin’s effects, according to a study in Current Biology. So if you’ve just taken down a hefty after-hours meal, you likely now have high blood sugar (long-term, a diabetes risk factor). Even worse, your body tends to store excess sugar as fat – and larger fat stores only increase insulin resistance, putting you at higher risk for diabetes, not to mention heart disease.


Time your noshing

Interestingly, the first step isn’t cutting out all late-night fare, says WH nutrition expert Kristen Beck. Rather, it’s to amp up your daytime protein intake. Balanced meals will reprogram your body to crave less food at night.

“Protein is the only nutrient that actually tells your brain that you feel full – or at least satisfied,” explains Beck. “Including protein in each of your meals and snacks will also reduce the glycaemic index of the carbohydrates in the same meal, so your blood sugar levels stay balanced and you’re less likely to crave sugary and/or fatty late-night snacks.”

Beck recommends starting with a breakfast of 1260-1680kJ, including 15-20g of protein (such as two poached eggs with mushrooms, one slice of wholegrain toast and an apple). Research shows that eating more in the morning decreases your overall intake for the day – the exact opposite of night-eating’s effects.

Lunch should also be 1260-1680kJ, with 25g of protein (think 100g of water-packed tuna and brown rice with mixed vegetables). If you’re peckish between meals, graze on 420-840kJ snacks, says Beck. Aim for at least 5g of protein (that’s 100g of yoghurt or 30g of almonds, for example).

At dinner, stick to 1680kJ-meals with 30g of protein (such as lean fillet steak with salad and baked sweet potato).
Aside from better meal planning, hitting the hay is your best defence. Research by the University of Pennsylvania found that people who go to bed after midnight consume an extra 2100kJ. Yikes.

And remember to switch off your TV or iPad early: trawling BuzzFeed can spur mindless munching, upping your kilojoule intake by as much as 10 per cent, according the University of Liverpool. You may not be able to break a night-eating habit right away, and that’s OK. Just consuming fewer kilojoules at or after dinner will put you on a healthier path.