The Human Circadian System Has a Dominating Role in Causing the Morning/Evening Difference in Diet‐Induced Thermogenesis
Year: 2015
Type: article
Study design: Clinical Trial
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) is lower in the evening and at night than in the morning. This may help explain why meal timing affects body weight regulation and why shift work is a risk factor for obesity. The separate effects of the endogenous circadian system--independent of behavioral cycles--and of circadian misalignment on DIT are unknown. METHODS: Thirteen healthy adults undertook a randomized crossover study with two 8-day laboratory visits: three baseline days followed either by repeated simulated night shifts including 12-h inverted behavioral cycles (circadian misalignment) or by recurring simulated day shifts (circadian alignment). DIT was determined for up to 114 min (hereafter referred to as "early DIT") following identical meals given at 8AM and 8PM in both protocols. RESULTS: During baseline days, early DIT was 44% lower in the evening than morning. This was primarily explained by a circadian influence rather than any behavioral cycle effect; early DIT was 50% lower in the biological evening than biological morning, independent of behavioral cycle influences. Circadian misalignment had no overall effect on early DIT. CONCLUSIONS: The circadian system plays a dominating role in the morning/evening difference in early DIT and may contribute to the effects of meal timing on body weight regulation.
Source: Obesity
DOI: 10.1002/oby.21189
Authors: Christopher J. Morris, Joanna I. Garcia, Samantha Myers, Jessica N. Yang, Noortje Trienekens, Frank A.J.L. Scheer
Institutions: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University
Language: English
Subfield: Endocrine and Autonomic Systems
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University, National Space Biomedical Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Center for Research Resources
Awards: G1425212935, Meal Time Effects on Metabolic Health., Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center (UL1), Development of countermeasures against adverse metabolic effects of shift work, Mechanisms underlying adverse health consequences of shift work, G559047712, G690245692, NATIONAL SPACE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE, G816501378
OpenAlex ID: W1822129566