US study, lighter dinner

Eating most of your calories in the first part of the day prevents blood sugar. The reason? In this way, the permanence in the blood of those sugars whose glycemic values ​​exceed the healthy limits is reduced. Therefore, this dietary approach could help people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The indication comes from a study coordinated by researchers of the New York University and presented at the annual congress of the Endocrine Society which is taking place in Chicago, USA. In the past, several studies had shown that concentrating meals in the first 8 hours of the day has beneficial effects on metabolism and blood sugar levels. However, it was not clear whether the benefits derived from the dietary pattern itself or from the weight loss (often associated with it).

Research

The new research analyzed the effects of a diet that provides for the intake of 80% of calories by 1.00 pm, comparing it with a “standard” model in which about half of the calories are taken after 4.00 pm.

Except for the variation in meal times, the researchers allowed the participants to take the desired amount of food to exclude that the advantages that emerged from the study were linked to any weight loss. After a week of dieting, the results confirmed that reducing the calories eaten in the second part of the day has beneficial effects on blood sugar control.

“This type of diet, through its effect on blood sugar, may prevent those with pre-diabetes or obesity from progressing to type 2 diabetes,” he said.
researcher Joanne H. Bruno. However, according to the expert “further studies are needed to better understand the overall advantage of this strategy”.

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