Women's Health Journey

Circadian rhythm affects our weight

Circadian rhythm affects our weight

Chrono pharmacology

There is evidence supporting circadian regulation of drug metabolism, transport, and detoxification. If the drugs are given in time-of-day-specific manner, it will have different effectiveness, which lead to new concept of chrono-pharmacotherapy. 

  • Study more than 14,000  suicide attempts using poison (such as drinking pesticides) found that those who tried committing suicide in the late morning were more than twice as likely to die than those who ingested a same dose in the evening.
  • In the same vein properly timed chemotherapy can not only end up being five times less toxic but also twice as effective against cancer.
  • People suffering from hypertension were randomized into taking their blood pressure pills at bedtime instead of in the morning. Not only the bedtime group achieves better blood pressure control and suffer fewer heart attacks and strokes but cuts their risk of death in half. Yet most physicians and pharmacists help patients to take them in the morning potentially doubling their risk of death.

Science just started figuring out the optimal timing for different medications.

 

Chrono prevention

If chronotherapy the optimal timing of drugs can have such an impact, it should come as no surprise that chrono prevention the scheduling of lifestyle interventions like mealtimes can also make a difference.

For effective treatment for obesity, importance should be placed not only on the quantity but timing of calorie intake. Consuming more calories earlier in the day rather than later in the day can assist with weight management.

Obesity has been characterized as a chronobiological disease.

 

Modernization

Timing of calorie intake may have shifted slightly over last few decades towards, a greater proportion of foods are taken later in the day.

 

Explanation

Is it that people who eat later, tend to eat more because  they end up eating over the entire day, or is is it because of   eating junk on the couch while watching primetime TV. Also night  has tendency to eat more fast food, soda and fewer fruits and vegetables. In the field of social psychology there’s a controversial concept called ego depletion where self-control is viewed as a limited resource like a muscle that can become fatigued from overuse, as the day wears on, the ability to resist unhealthy food choices may decline, leaving one vulnerable to temptation.

Evidence

Two groups of people were given same amount of calories and some composition of food in king prince and pauper group vs Pauper price and king group. 

It was concluded that’s its the timing itself which causes weight loss.