You're desperate to catch the last episode of that Netflix series you’ve been following, even though it's late at night, but your TV viewing needs to be accompanied by the right snacks and food, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, the habit of eating late in the evening carries an increased risk of obesity and the associated health risks.

A new study by researchers at Harvard Medical School, conducted at Brigham and Women´s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, shows that when we eat is crucial for energy consumption, appetite and the risk of developing obesity. The study monitored the behaviour of 16 volunteers with a body mass index in the overweight or severely overweight range: eating times were shifted back by four hours in a series of experiments, with subjective feelings of hunger and appetite registered, and blood samples taken.

The results saw that eating late significantly affects the feeling of hunger, and the activity of the hormones leptin and ghrelin, which regulate appetite. A notable result revealed that the feeling of satiety was significantly reduced by late eating and, in addition, later eating times reduced the burning of calories. According to the study authors, this confirms the results of similar investigations that late eating increases the risk of developing obesity. In follow-up studies, the connection between eating time and sleeping time will now be investigated.