Overview
- The controlled Cell Metabolism trial from Harvard tracked 16 overweight adults on identical diets and found that eating about 250 minutes earlier lowered next‑morning hunger and 24‑hour leptin declined with late eating.
- Late dinners in the study also reduced early‑day energy expenditure and shifted fat‑tissue gene expression toward greater lipid storage, changes that together may raise obesity risk.
- Researchers and clinicians recommend expanding the overnight fasting window, with practical guidance to finish dinner two to six hours before bedtime and keep the evening meal lighter.
- Broader evidence cited by NIH and sleep experts links later eating to circadian disruption, poorer glucose tolerance and lower‑quality sleep, while earlier schedules are associated with better rest and metabolic control.
- Some coverage notes observational ties between earlier dinners, longevity and lower cardiovascular risk, including reports of higher triglycerides with late eating, though those claims carry more limited evidentiary weight.