Does late night snacking make you put on weight? After a night shift will a second dinner cause those pounds to pile on?

Weight loss depends on what you eat and when you eat it. Usually those late night calories are not really needed by your body, you may find it hard to fall asleep or may be stressed after a long work shift. This can prompt you to reach out for food for comfort or to overcome boredom. The calories you take after your dinner are extra and add on to the days calories from your scheduled meals and snacks. These extra calories equal extra weight. One should also keep in mind that the body does not burn calories as efficiently as it does during the day. (ME Gluck et al., Nighttime eating: commonly observed and related to weight gain in an inpatient food intake study. Am J Clin NutrOctober 2008 vol. 88 no. 4 900-905)

Night eating syndrome (NES) is a disorder that has been studied among adolescents. An affected individual wakes up several times during the night and is unable to sleep unless they eat something. They tend to consume one third or more of their daily calories after their evening meal, sometimes waking up once or twice a night to snack. When sleeping and eating behaviours are simultaneously affected, often there is spectrum of disease states that may result and often lead to NES. (Suri S, Pradhan R. Assessment of Night Eating Syndrome Among Late Adolescents. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine. 2010;32(1):71-72. doi:10.4103/0253-7176.70548.)

During the night, the body temperature reduces and leptin levels increase. Leptin is a hormone that regulates appetite, this creates the environment for weight gain. Lack of sleep and metabolic hormones play an important role. Late night eating often goes uncontrolled and consists of large portions of high calorie foods that are high in salt, sugar and fat. When you sleep, ideally the body uses energy for rest, healing and repair of tissues. Late night munching causes the energy to be diverted for digesting your high calorie snack or meal.

While eating late at night has earned a bad reputation, it is not the only culprit. Those trying to lose weight also need to focus on healthy eating during the day. Excess weight gain cannot be solely tied down to those late night nibbles, though they may contribute in part to unhealthy weight gain. Caloric balance through the day is crucial.

Since your activity levels tend to be their lowest at night, the food that you eat is not burned/ broken down for energy. These extra calories are stored as fat and the body makes use of the reserves only when other sources of energy are depleted. It may be encouraging to know that even at rest your body is using up calories. This is known as the Basal Metabolic Rate (the energy needed by the body at rest for optimal functioning of cells, tissues and organs) . When you build muscle you increase your resting metabolism, as a pound of muscle burns three times more calories than a pound of fat. Therefore it is important to exercise regularly not just for weight loss but to build muscle too.

Having a late night snack when you are hungry is not a complete no, provided your snack is healthy. However, most often late night snacks are processed, convenience or junk foods like cakes, pastries, deep fried snacks, chips or instant noodles.

Tips to prevent late night munching

1. Keep a 1 ½ - 2 hour gap between your last meal/ snack and bedtime and stick to it.
2. Keep unhealthy snacks out of the way. People tend to eat when they see food, regardless of whether they are hungry or not
3. Maintain a regular sleep time and sleeping pattern, keep away electronic devices and gadgets . Practise relaxation or deep breathing exercises that help you get to sleep
4. Do not skip meals, this can lead to starvation eating later on in the day. Have all your meals and snacks on time
5. If you do need a snack at night, keep it simple and small. It would be wise to stay under 100 -150 calories. A small glass of skimmed milk with a pinch of turmeric or a small fruit should help satisfy your appetite.