Scheduled meals and scheduled palatable snacks synchronize circadian rhythms: Consequences for ingestive behavior

This 2011 review explains the phenomenon that is entrainment by food and specifically by palatable snacks. Escobar et al. (2011) say the signals transmitted by the biological clock, that normally adjusts to the daily light/dark (LD) alternation, can be influenced and overridden by food. There usually exists a correct coordination between the light/dark transition and the food elicited time signals with the circadian system, but this synchronisation within the body becomes disturbed if food is consumed during the regular resting/sleep phase. This review suggests that scheduled feeding may lead to food addiction and that altered eating schedules can alter dietary behavior and result in obesity and abnormal metabolic responses. [NPID: behavior, snacks, palatable food, palatable snacks, snacking, circadian rhythm, metabolism, obesity, scheduled eating, scheduled feeding]

Year: 2011

Reference: Escobar, C., Salgado, R., Rodriguez, K., Blancas Vázquez, A. S., Angeles-Castellanos, M., & Buijs, R. M. (2011). Scheduled meals and scheduled palatable snacks synchronize circadian rhythms: consequences for ingestive behavior. Physiology & behavior, 104(4), 555–561. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.05.001