Greater Weight Loss When Carbs Saved for Dinner?
Dr. Arya Sharma, of “Dr. Sharma’s Obesity Notes” flagged a rather interesting Israeli study on overweight police officers. According to Dr. Sharma:
A study by Sigal Sofer and colleagues from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, published in OBESITY, suggests that eating most of your carbs at dinner may have beneficial effects on hormonal patterns, metabolism, and lead to more weight loss than eating a similarly calorie-restricted diet with carbs spread out throughout the day.
…A total of 78 male subjects (policemen) with a BMI greater than 30 were randomized to 6 months of 1,300–1,500 kcal/day diets, with either the carbs served mostly at dinner (test) or throughout the day (control).
Subjects eating their carbs in the evenings lost more weight (11.6 vs. 9.06 kg) and had lower hunger scores as well as greater improvements in fasting glucose, average daily insulin concentrations, and insulin-resistance.
The researchers predicted that the single, evening insulin surge would lead to higher leptin levels the following morning… which would then enhance satiety and dietary adherence over the day.
This is interesting, since “carb tapering” is often recommended to enhance fat loss. The idea is to eat carbs early in the day, and taper off towards the evening, so they’ll be available for use as fuel when dieters are most active. At a glance, this study seems to turn this practice on its head.
Obviously, more research needs to be done. It was a small study, after all. Nonetheless, it’s certainly an interesting result.
December 20, 2011
As you stated, that is the exact opposite of the general thinking on carbs. Most diets recommend the tapering method for carbs.
Very interesting, hopefully they do some follow up studies.
December 20, 2011
FWIW, there’s a practical aspect to the general thinking if you’re also hitting the weights. If you’re at all performance-minded, having some “fuel in the tank” can make a real difference.
As such, I’m not sure that I’d completely abandon carb tapering, even if the “carbs-at-night” approach is confirmed. It’s still a pretty useful technique for keeping your overall carb intake down, while still consuming enough to support your workouts.