Late-night snacking and eating before bed increase the risk of cancer, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Institute for Global Health at the University of Barcelona and published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Spanish researchers observed that people who regularly eat after 9 p.m., or less than 2 hours before going to bed, have a 25% higher risk of developing breast or prostate cancer.
They claim that this increased risk is the result of late snacking, which has effects our metabolism, thus forcing the body to increase the metabolic rate at a time when it should be slowing down.
There are several studies that follow the harmful effects of some jobs that involve shift work and the increased risk that these occupations present of developing breast or prostate cancer.
These two types of cancer are closely related to the action of hormones and are often treated with therapies based on testosterone or estrogen. Hormones are chemical messengers that make us sleepy, stressed or hungry. Thus, they are influenced by the circadian rhythm.
“Our study concludes that adopting a lifestyle that includes meals during the day is associated with a reduced risk of cancer,” says Dr. Manolis Kogevinas, the lead author of the study.
The researchers followed 1,800 patients with prostate or breast cancer and more than 2,000 people without cancer, being interested in their schedule and the things they did for their health. They noticed, after taking into account other habits of the patients related to diet and sleep, that most of them used to eat before going to bed.
Currently, the potential impact of these late-night snacks on cancer risk is not specified in international cancer prevention guidelines.
There are other studies that demonstrate the effects of irregular meals and skipping meals on health. “More research in humans is needed to better understand these findings, but everything seems to indicate that bedtime affects our ability to metabolize food,” says Dr. Dora Romaguera, one of the researchers.
