It is amazing how many new studies come out every week on the human body, the environment and a variety of interesting topics.  The latest one on diet comes from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego.  The report, based on tests done on mice, indicates that when you eat, or at least when mice eat, is critical to their weight.  In other words, even if the mice all eat the same diet, those who eat at the wrong times will ultimately be more obese than those eating the same diet at the right times.  

The question then is when is the right time?  The scientists don’t have an exact answer for what time you should eat, but the tests on the mice indicated that those who limited their eating to 12 hours of the day, despite eating the same food, were less obese than those whose eating was not limited to 12 hours.  They say that that 12 hours would begin with your first cup of tea or coffee when you wake up in the morning and your last meal should be no later than 12 hours after that first cup of tea or coffee in the morning. If you snack at late hours of the night, you are going to put on more weight, even if you are eating relatively healthily.  The scientists believe that the time at which food is eaten influences the body’s internal clock and in a stronger way than dark and light cycles.  That in turn affects your metabolism.