Effects of consuming later evening meal versus earlier evening meal on weight loss during a Weight Loss Diet: a randomized clinical trial

Previous evidence confirms a relationship between the timing of food intake and weight loss in humans. We aimed to evaluate the effect of late versus early evening meal consumption on weight loss and cardio-metabolic risk factors in women during a weight loss program. 82 Healthy women [BMI = 27- 35 kg/m2; age= 18-45 y] were randomly assigned into two hypo-caloric weight loss groups: Early Evening Meal Group (at 7:00-7:30 PM), (EEM), or Late Evening Meal Group (at 10:30-11:00 PM), (LEM) for 12 weeks. Baseline variables were not significantly different between the groups. A significant reduction in anthropometric measurements and significant improvements in lipid and carbohydrate metabolism characteristics were detected over the 12 weeks in both groups. Compared with LEM Group (mean± SD), EEM Group had a greater reduction in weight (EEM: -6.74 ± 1.92kg ; LEM: -4.81 ± 2.22kg; P<0.001), BMI (EEM: -2.60 ± 0.71kg/m²; LEM: -1.87 ±0.85kg/ m² ; P<0.001), waist circumference (EEM: -8± 3.25cm; LEM: -6± 3.05cm, P=0.007), total cholesterol (EEM: -0.51 ± 0.19 mmol/l, LEM: -0.43 ± 0.19 mmol/l, P=0.038), triglyceride (EEM: -0.28 ± 0.10 mmol/l, LEM: -0.19 ± 0.10 mmol/l, P<0.001, HOMA IR (EEM: -0.83 ±0.37; LEM: -0.55 ± 0.28, P<0.001) and fasting insulin (EEM: -2.64 ± 1.49 m IU/ml; LEM: -1.43 ± 0.88 m IU/ml; P<0.001) after the 12 weeks. In conclusion, eating an earlier evening meal resulted in favorable changes in weight loss during a 12-week weight loss program. It may also offer clinical benefits concerning changes in plasma cardio-metabolic risk markers.