Meal times contribute more to an increased risk of diabetes than do food choices, according to a study published Monday by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, found that adults who work late night shifts are at a higher risk of developing diabetes because glucose tolerance is lower at night. Misaligned biological schedules may also reduce glucose tolerance and increase the chances of developing diabetes for night shift workers, the study stated.
Frank Scheer, one of the authors of the study and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, said he and the eight other doctors looked into food intake timing and the effect it has.
“We showed that the effect of the body clock in our hands is much bigger than the effect of all those behaviors combined,” he said. “It is the consumption of many carbohydrates, either late at night or in the evening, [that] are not received as well by the body.”
Other health risk factors were also explored in the report, Scheer said.
“We have looked also at cardiovascular risk factors in the same study,” he said. “We’ve been looking, for example, at blood pressure regulation and regulation of heart rate as examples, and so what we have found is that also these conditions of misalignment result in an increase in blood pressure.”
Scheer said even though the study focused on working adults, it could apply to people of all demographics, including students who work late hours at night.
“The study actually showed two separate kind of effects. One was what we’ve been discussing, which is the affect of misalignment, but the other applies to basically everybody, because there, we showed that the timing of the day matters how you respond to it,” he said.
Kathleen Meehan, a registered dietician at Boston University’s Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, said a balanced diet and good night’s sleep are important for students’ success and overall health.
“With a balanced meal, students feel satisfied longer and often are more productive as energy levels are sustained until the next meal or snack,” she wrote in an email. “Unusual or inadequate sleep schedules can affect a student’s ability to make healthful choices as some research suggests that sleep affects hormones that regulate appetite and satiety.”
Meehan said it is important for students to focus on overall healthy sleep patterns rather than relying on individual case studies.
“While the study reiterates that altered circadian rhythms can affect carbohydrate metabolism, students might be better served by aiming for more typical sleep patterns with balanced nutrition rather than changing their diets,” she said. “It can be challenging to [glean] specific nutrition advice from one piece of literature.”
Several residents and students said they have noticed how their food choices affect their well-being.
Helen Keller, 23, of Allston, said she works late nights, and her food choices are not often the healthiest.
“I eat pizza at work and fries because they’re free for employees. We get cheaper discounted meals, which includes burgers, pizza and one salad,” she said. “It’s important for college kids to know about this study also because [they’re doing work around] the same kind of hours.”
Michelle Dutt, 21, of Back Bay, said she has noticed how her eating habits affect her sleep schedule.
“I tend to do a lot of late night snacking,” she said. “I’ve definitely noticed that if I eat something before I go to bed, I have a harder time falling asleep.”
Laurel Tisserand, a junior in the College of Communication, said she tries to incorporate carbohydrates in each of her three meals per day, but she sometimes skips dinner.
“I oftentimes find [that] if I’m going to skimp on a meal, it’s usually dinner. I get lazy, but I don’t usually skip breakfast,” she said. “I try to eat a balanced meal for every meal.”
Tisserand said it is difficult, however, to follow the constant, ever-changing stream of nutritional information.
“There’s so much information constantly coming at students, especially girls, about what they should and shouldn’t be eating,” she said. “I just try to do my own thing and do whatever works for me. It seems to me like the information of nutrition is constantly changing, so it’s difficult to educate people on what to eat.”
