From your grandparents to health experts and influencers, you must have heard everyone advise that one should have an early dinner and go to bed early. While some eat samosas even at 3 am, others prefer to abstain from eating at all once the sun goes down.
However, it has always been debatable if the timing of your dinner has any impact on how your body responds to it. Even if you don’t follow a strict diet, it is advisable to plan your meals for the day and keep an adequate gap between them.
Dinner plays a significant role as it is the last meal of your day. After dinner, the body doesn’t take any food for the next 6 to 8 hours, so it becomes important to plan it wisely.
Late dinner and weight gain
Many argue that late-night bingeing or having dinner late leads to weight gain or other health issues. However, experts suggest that the advice might be a bit misleading. In reality, the health issues might have more to do with the nature of your dinner than its timing.
Studies have found that adults who eat post-8 pm or later are likely to consume more calories, which in turn results in weight gain. People who have their dinner late at night end up exceeding their maximum daily calorie intake.
Food choice matters
When it comes to having your food late, one is more prone to eating junk or comfort food. Some of the snacks that most people eat before going to bed are fried potato chips, chocolates, and ice cream. These high-calorie foods directly contribute to the sudden weight gain that is attributed to late dinner. It is advised to opt for healthy and light food when you are hungry after dinner so that you don’t consume extra calories.
To sum up, it wouldn’t hurt you to eat dinner late as long as you stayed within your daily calorie needs.
