Eating lunch at 3 p.m. reduces calorie consumption by 40%

Whether you will lose weight or not, it is not only necessary to pay attention to what you eat throughout the day, but also when you eat is the key. Many people have irregular meal times three times a day due to work or other matters, especially for busy office workers. However, if you always delay lunch until after 3 o'clock, it is easy to accumulate fat in the body and consume 40% less calories than people who eat on time.

When lunch time comes, remember to eat. Be careful not to eat too late as it will make you gain weight more easily! (Photo/taken from New York's "Daily News")

New York's Morning News reported that a study conducted jointly by the University of Murcia in Spain and two other universities allowed 420 overweight or obese Spaniards to participate in a five-month weight loss program. All of them were required to follow the instructions to eat a Mediterranean diet (high protein, good fats, and more vegetables), but the time for lunch was left to the participants to decide for themselves. The participants were mainly divided into two groups: before 3 pm and after 3 pm.

After 5 months of experiments, the results showed that the group that had lunch before 3 o'clock lost a total of 22 pounds, while those who ate after 3 o'clock lost 17 pounds, a difference of about 40%. The same diet may have different weight loss effects. Frank, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, said that people who eat lunch later usually don't eat much or even breakfast, which causes their metabolism to enter a slower period after 3 pm, but they consume more calories, causing the body to store calories and fat all at once, reducing calorie consumption.

The researchers also controlled for other factors that may affect weight loss, such as total calorie intake, appetite hormones, leptin levels, and sleep duration, but there were no significant differences between the two groups, so it is speculated that meal time is a key obstacle to weight loss. However, due to differences in dietary culture among countries, the research results may also be affected. But don't fast for too long and eat at regular times and in regular amounts, which are definitely rules that apply to all countries.