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Australia; New Zealand
Expert Reaction
These comments have been collated by the Science Media Centre to provide a variety of expert perspectives on this issue. Feel free to use these quotes in your stories. Views expressed are the personal opinions of the experts named. They do not represent the views of the SMC or any other organisation unless specifically stated.
Professor Rozanne Kruger is Honorary Research Fellow – School of Sport, Exercise and Nutrition at Massey University, Academic Lead Nutrition and Dietetics at Griffith University, and an author of this paper
"Are you an early bird or a night owl? When a person routinely prefers to go to bed early and wake up early, they are considered morning chronotypes, and when they prefer to go to bed late and wake up late, they are considered evening chronotypes. Chronotypes influence our preferences for food intake, our behaviours and our metabolism.
"Both Morning-types and Evening-types among healthy European and Pacific NZ women consumed similar amounts of food or energy across the day. Evening-types consumed less food between 3am and 9:59 am but more food between 8pm and 2:59 am, while the opposite was true for Morning-types. This Evening-type eating and sleeping pattern was associated with greater body fat percentage, belly fat, and higher blood sugar and lipids.
"Consuming food at night, when we are supposed to be fasting and sleeping means we store more food rather than use it, which may increase susceptibility to obesity and cause worse health outcomes."
