Globally, one in eight people living with obesity. This is a problem because excess fat can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers.
Changing your diet is important to control obesity and prevent weight gain. This may include reducing calorie intake, changing eating patterns and prioritizing healthy foods.
But is one method of losing weight more likely to be successful than another? Our new research compared three weight loss methods to see if one resulted in more weight loss than the others:
- Change calorie allocation – eat more calories earlier in the day rather than later
- Eat less meals
- Intermittent fasting.
We analyzed data from 29 clinical trials involving nearly 2,500 people.
We found that over 12 weeks or more, the three methods resulted in similar weight loss: 1.4-1.8 kg.
So if you really want to lose weight, choose the method that works best for you and your lifestyle.
Eat earlier in the day
When our metabolism isn’t functioning properly, our bodies are unable to respond appropriately to the hormone insulin. This can lead to weight gain, fatigue, and an increased risk of many chronic diseases, including diabetes.
Eat later in the day – a big dinner, late night snacking – Seems to cause worsening of metabolic function. This means the body is less efficient at converting food into energy, controlling blood sugar, and regulating fat storage.
In contrast, consuming calories earlier in the day appears to improve metabolic function.
However, this may not be suitable for everyone. Some people are born with a nighttime “sleep pattern,” meaning they wake up and stay up later.
Regardless of method, people with this sleep pattern appear to be less successful at losing weight. This is due to a variety of factors, including genetics, an increased likelihood of poor overall diet quality, and higher levels of the hunger hormone.
Most studies compare three meals to six meals, but there is limited evidence on whether two meals are better than three. (Source: Freepik)
Eat less meals
Skipping breakfast is common, but does it hinder weight loss? Or is a big breakfast and a smaller dinner ideal? While smaller, more frequent meals may reduce disease risk, recent research suggests that eating six meals a day may increase disease risk compared with eating one or two meals a day. weight loss success.
However, this doesn’t reflect broader research, which tends to show smaller, more frequent meals lead to greater weight loss. Our research shows that three meals a day is better than six. The easiest way is to skip snacking and just eat breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Most studies compare three meals to six meals, but there is limited evidence on whether two meals are better than three.
However, eating your calories earlier (consuming most of your calories between breakfast and lunch) appears to be better for weight loss and may also help reduce hunger throughout the day. But more and longer studies are needed.
fasting or time-restricted eating
Many of us spend more than 14 hours a day eating.
Eating late at night disrupts the body’s natural rhythms and alters organ function. Over time, this can increase your risk of type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases, especially if you are a shift worker.
Time-restricted eating is a form of intermittent fasting, which means eating all calories during the six to ten hours during the day when you are most active. It’s not about changing what or how much you eat, but changing when you eat.
Animal studies show that time-restricted eating can lead to weight loss and improved metabolism. But the evidence in humans is still limited, especially about long-term benefits.
It’s unclear whether the benefits of time-restricted eating are due to the time itself or because people eat less overall. When we studied studies in which participants ate freely (without intentionally restricting calories) but followed an 8-hour daily eating window, they naturally consumed about 200 fewer calories per day.
What works for you?
In the past, clinicians viewed weight loss and avoiding weight gain as a similar equation of calorie intake and expenditure. But things like how we allocate our calories How often we eat during the day and whether we eat late at night may also affect our metabolism, weight, and health.
There is no easy way to lose weight. So choose the method or combination of methods that works best for you. You might consider:
-Target eats within eight hours
– Focus on breakfast and lunch to burn calories early
-Choose three meals a day instead of six.
The average adult gains weight by 0.4 to 0.7 kilograms per year. Improving the quality of your diet is important to preventing weight gain, and the strategies above may also help.
Finally, there is still a lot we don’t know about these dietary patterns. Many of the existing studies are short-term, have small sample sizes, and have diverse methods, making direct comparisons difficult.
More studies are underway, including well-controlled trials with larger samples, diverse populations, and consistent methodologies. So hopefully future research will help us understand more about how changing dietary patterns can lead to better health.
