The effect of dinner consumption on body weight: Review

Οver the last years the timing of energy intake has shifted with greater proportion of food eaten later in the day. Many studies have been conducted on how eating later in the day affects body weight as well as behaviors related with it. Most of the studies have concluded that people who eat later in the day have a higher body weight, or will increase their weight prospectively, in comparison with people who eat earlier. These findings apply for people with normal body weight and overweight or obese people. Furthermore, consumption of food earlier in the day is beneficial in terms of body weight loss, as it seems that people who eat earlier in the day lose more body weight and display greater rate of body weight loss. Nonetheless, there are studies that show opposite results or conclude that timing of energy intake does not have impact on body weight. On the contrary, studies agree in terms of dinner consumption and body weight in children and teenagers, especially if it is consumed with the family, as it seems that family dinner is beneficial not only for body weight but also for behaviors related with it. In conclusion, there is need of better designed studies in order for the relationship between dinner consumption and body weight in adults to be revealed.