Question by Craig: Does the time that we start the business day affect our weight?
I have been doing research into obesity in the U.S, and I have noticed a few things. A lot of dietitians recommend that breakfast be our largest meal of the day and that dinner should be the smallest (we don’t burn food sleeping). This does make sense, however, with the way we have set the “business” day, most are at work way before 8:00 A.M, and many people don’t even get to have breakfast due to commutes and etc. In America, we are also starting work earlier according to a recent study (more below). We supposedly saved energy by moving DST, do you think we could decrease obesity in the U.S if we moved up the work day, say, 10 til 6 or something similar? All hypothetical, just curious. Then we have more time to eat a healthy breakfast and more exhausted when we get home that we sleep rather than eat.
In the Chicagoland area, which was one of the fattest states, people that live in the suburbs have started driving in to chicago at 3:00 – 4:00 A.M in order to beat the morning traffic. A lot of fitness clubs are opening early to accommodate them (Give them something to do). Are we just becoming even worse, soon we won’t be eating breakfast at all, yet we will be working out, so by the time we get home we would be famished and over-eat before falling asleep, hence making us even fatter. Anyone follow?
Oh, just a personal view, I work in the Chicago city limits, and that is where I live, If you need to head into work at 3:00 A.M to beat traffic, isn’t that a sign that you should look for a new job or a new residence, rater than living in the suburbs?
So, multiple questions, just bored and trying to get an understanding of some basic human logic that just seems highly flawed.
I was going off “burning” food as in, we are awake and active during the day, depending on the person, some people hit the bed right after dinner. Now, lunch I do like, and yeah, the french have it all right, somehow. Between how much time they have to eat and the ingredients and way in which they shop (green grocer, butcher, baker).
Obviously we all know that eating the right portion and exercising correctly will keep a nation fit and healthy. We also know that most nations are bound to be full of idiots that just wont. So, we in the U.S are doing something different than the more skinny europeans that eat all day and don’t exercise. So beyond shutting large grocery stores for smaller ones that carry fresh foods. What else can we do? Siesta sounds pretty good.
Stress I can take as a reason. What other points in us working more and earlier cause this? What beyond exercise do we as a culture do that keeps us the fattest nation in the world?
Best answer:
Answer by nonames
Yes, you do burn “food” (calories) while sleeping. Your require calories even to maintain your Basic Metabolic Rate (BMR), which keeps your heart pumping, etc. It’s a myth that you’ll gain weight solely by eating right before bed.
Self-control doesn’t know what time it is, either. The reason that you’re seeing a correlation between early work hours and obesity is probably because those who must rise that early are probably more stressed than those who don’t have to wake up before the sun rises. Stress can lead to overeating, both because certain foods have a self-medicating effect chemically (endorphins), and because people use the ritual of eating itself as a comfort and escape from reality. The hours don’t actually cause obesity, though, because a person with good eating and exercise habits is going to stay in shape regardless of what time she or he goes to work.
The typical overweight person probably starts the day off by skipping breakfast, thus spiking his or her insulin levels. By doing this, the person has signed up to crave glucose (commonly found in sugary, non-healthy foods). Breakfast is the “most important meal” because it gets one’s metabolism and glucose levels in check for the day. Also, ironically, a person who is very overweight is probably concerned about gaining more weight and therefore skip breakfast thinking it’s a save on calories. However, this same person will nevertheless fall into the blood sugar trap and find herself or himself snagging Snickers bars in the evening and waking up for midnight gorges.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
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