Studies: Timing of meals could have big impact on health

BOSTON - Two local studies find that timing of meals could have a big impact on your health.

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital studied 16 overweight people and found that when they ate later in the day, they were hungrier over a 24-hour period, burned calories more slowly, and were more likely to store fat, compared to eating those same meals earlier in the day and regardless of variables like physical activity and sleep.

In another study, researchers at the Brigham found that eating meals within a 10-hour window can shrink bad cholesterol particles which could reduce the risk for heart disease.

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

Twitter Facebook