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Is Your Schedule Contributing to Your Weight Gain?

by | Last updated Sep 25, 2024 | Obesity & Weight Loss

Many contributing factors encourage obesity: food choices, sedentary living, endocrine imbalances, gut microbiome imbalances, food availability, obesogens (endocrine-disrupting compounds that promote obesity), manipulation by certain food manufacturers, social media, childhood trauma, and of course, genetics influence our weight and BMI. Disturbed circadian rhythms play an important role in not only the pathogenesis of obesity but also in the comorbidities or complications resulting from obesity. The good news is that if we harness the power of circadian rhythms correctly, we gain an advantage in the Battle of the Bulge!

Three Types of Body Fat

White adipose tissue (WAT) serves as insulation and energy storage by storing triglycerides. It also produces hormones like leptin which helps regulate appetite, and adiponectin which has anti-diabetic effects. However, excessive white fat can release pro-inflammatory substances that contribute to inflammation. In contrast, brown adipose tissue (BAT) is primarily involved in burning calories. Unfortunately, as we age, we tend to lose some of our brown fat. However, under certain conditions, brown fat can be found within white adipose tissue in a process called “browning,” resulting in the creation of beige fat. The presence of more brown fat in white adipose tissue (i.e. beige fat) leads to increased calorie burning.

Disturbed Circadian Rhythms Lower the Threshold for Obesity

Approximately 20% of the labor force is shift workers. Thirty-three percent of the population experiences two or more hours of weekly social jet lag. Shift work and frequent social jet lag are associated with misaligned circadian rhythms.1 The circadian rhythms play a crucial role in regulating energy metabolism and balance. Both the timing of meals and the circadian clock affect various hormones that control energy levels. Disruptions in meal timing, such as skipping breakfast, eating late at night, or working night shifts, have been associated with higher body mass indexes (BMIs) and an increased risk of metabolic disorders.2 Unfortunately, misaligned circadian rhythms are independent risk factors for cancer.3 4 Not only do circadian  rhythms regulate metabolism, they also help govern DNA repair and the immune system.

Paying the Consequences

Shift workers and those who frequently adhere to an irregular schedule for convenience experience a higher rate of certain cancers, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal diseases than non–shift workers. Many studies confirm that misaligned circadian rhythms change the metabolism of glucose and fat so that there is a low threshold for obesity.5 6

Studies on shift workers and those with social jetlag have shown a positive correlation between higher body mass index, elevated triglyceride, elevated blood sugar, and even elevated inflammatory markers in comparison with those who operate on consistent day schedules.7

Additionally, shift workers are also more at risk for excess visceral fat than subcutaneous fat. Visceral fat surrounds our abdominal organs. Extra visceral fat increases the risk of metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, type 2 diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, stroke, thrombosis, and hypertension.8 Additionally, excess visceral fat doubles the risk of colon cancer.

Factors Governing Body Clocks

Exposure to light and darkness has the most extensive influence on circadian rhythms. To a lesser degree than with light exposure, sleep patterns, timing of food intake, hormones, stress, temperature, certain neurological conditions, travel between time zones, and exposure to light from electrical devices also influence circadian rhythm. Sleep deprivation, sleep fragmentation, the quality of sleep, a high-fat diet, and shift work adversely interfere with and sabotage the normal functioning of the circadian rhythm.9 10

Disturbed Circadian Rhythms Contribute to Obesity

Reduce Fat Burning

Circadian rhythms govern the metabolism of brown adipose tissue (BAT).11 Brown and beige fat (adipose tissue) have a high capacity to burn fat. Disturbed circadian rhythms contribute to obesity by impeding BAT’s ability to burn fat.12 Activation of BAT and beige adipocytes can improve insulin sensitivity and combat obesity.13 14 Fat-burning metabolism is optimal during morning hours rather than in the evening. 15 Persistent circadian misalignment also impairs the ability of the skeletal muscles and the liver to burn fat efficiently.

Less Appetite Control

Individuals with circadian misalignment are prone to make less healthy food choices—more sweets, more saturated fats, and less veggies. This effect is observed in lean shift workers as well as shift workers who are overweight or obese.16 17

Scientists took healthy individuals and placed them on a 28-hour day. When the subjects were shifted 12 hours from their normal sleep/wake cycle, they exhibited less of the satiety hormone leptin, an increased glucose level, and elevated blood pressure. In addition, their post-meal glucose response was similar to that seen in prediabetes.18

Circadian misalignment also affects the hunger hormone ghrelin.19 Sleep disturbances elevate ghrelin, decrease leptin, and make appetite controll more difficult. The cells do not respond to insulin effectively during a short period of sleep loss. During the night, the number of mitochondria in the liver increases. This phenomenon lowers the risk of fatty liver disease. Adequate and good sleep quality make the mitochondria more effective in burning glucose and fat to produce energy.20

When food is available the following day after a night of sleep deprivation, humans consume more calories in the evening when the fat metabolism is slower! Regarding sleep deprivation, some studies suggest that the nervous system is a more important factor than hormones.21

Upset Energy Balance

Here is more evidence that insufficient sleep and circadian misalignment are major metabolic stressors and are associated with weight gain and obesity. Circadian misalignment reduces 24-hour energy expenditure by ~3% (~55 kcal per day), alters the levels of appetite hormones, and promotes unhealthier food choices than conditions of adequate sleep. Insufficient sleep increases energy expenditure by ~100 kcal per day and increases energy intake by >250 kcal daily, resulting in a positive energy balance and weight gain. Sleep restriction increases appetite and excess food intake. 22

Create Endocrine Havoc

Melatonin, a hormone in the body, promotes fat burning and has receptors in fat cells. Melatonin levels rise as it gets dark and peak during the night. Even minimal exposure to light, such as LED lights in the evening, can delay melatonin production.23 Exposure to bright or blue light in the evening or at night, even for a short period, can reduce the production of melatonin, the hormone that aids in fat burning. Additionally, deep sleep increases the production of growth hormone which is also involved in burning fat.

Misaligned circadian rhythms can disrupt cortisol levels. High levels of cortisol, an anti-inflammatory hormone from the adrenal glands, can lead to the accumulation of belly fat by affecting thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue and causing beige adipocytes to turn into white fat cells.24 In a healthy individual, cortisol levels typically rise at 2 am, peak between 8 and 10 am, start declining at 4 pm, and reach their lowest point during the early night. This regular cortisol production pattern doesn’t interfere with the production of the growth hormone which ideally peaks during the early part of the night, before midnight. Sleeping at night, but not during the day, helps to regulate cortisol levels. Excessive cortisol production can increase the risk of visceral obesity. Partial sleep deprivation raises cortisol levels during the latter part of the day when they should be declining.25

Cortisol also raises blood glucose levels, so disrupting the natural night-day cycle can lead to higher blood sugar levels and decreased protein synthesis and fat metabolism

Promote Gut Dysbiosis

A proper balance of gut bacteria helps to determine the permeability of the intestinal wall. Misaligned circadian rhythms decrease the gut bacteria that produce anti-inflammatory substances and increase gut permeability so that toxins, allergens, and inflammatory agents can enter the bloodstream. Lack of diversity of gut bacteria and damage to gut barrier permeability is present in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, obesity, and diabetes.26

So, how can we get into synch?

Choose the Right Light

Light at night or during sleeping is a significant cause of disturbed circadian rhythms. As little as 0.2 lux of light exposure during the dark cycle can disrupt the circadian rhythms of activity in genes, shift the timing of food consumption, increase body mass, reduce glucose tolerance, alter melatonin rhythms, and increase cancer risk.27 28

Blue light exposure from computer screens, televisions, tablets, and cell phones decreases melatonin. Use amber light in the evening. If you need a night light, circadian rhythm expert Sachin Panda suggests using nightlights that emit red light. Use an eye mask or cover your eyes with a dark cloth

Get sunshine during the day, but not before you retire to sleep. Sunlight exposure in the morning improves circadian rhythm and boosts melatonin. If you work in evenings get sunshine in the afternoon. Broad spectrum light boxes can help, but they don’t give the dozen or more benefits that sunshine does.

Get Enough Good Quality Sleep

As previously mentioned, reduced sleep duration (both acute and chronic) and poor quality sleep are linked with impaired glucose tolerance, reduced insulin responsiveness following glucose challenge, increased body mass index, decreased levels of leptin, and increased levels of ghrelin.29  Even one night of insufficient sleep significantly increases inflammation in the body.30

Even though alcohol reduces the time it takes to get to sleep, people who drink before bedtime experience a disruption late in their sleep cycle that makes it more difficult to function the next day. Recreational marijuana and opioids disrupt sleep. Nicotine is a stimulant associated with increased insomnia severity and shortened sleep duration, particularly if intake occurs at night.31 Nicotine is a common sleep disruptor.

Learn to Manage Stress

Stress activates genes that affect metabolism and promotes the consumption of sweet and fatty foods, thus increasing appetite and contributing to obesity.

Use Wise Meal Timing

Studies demonstrated that people who have a more irregular meal routine have a higher risk of obesity and metabolic syndrome when compared to those with a more regular meal routine.32 33 34

Researchers found that skipping the last meal of the day resulted in significantly lower body weight than skipping the first meal of the day or having three meals daily. Skipping breakfast does not improve our metabolism if a person is expending as many calories as he eats.35

Increased food intake in the evening is linked to weight gain and obesity and reduces the effectiveness of weight loss programs. 36 37 Consuming the same amount of calories in the evening as you would eat earlier in the day leads to weight gain.38 Additionally, consuming a major portion of calories at night produces alterations in the gut microbiota to a pro-inflammatory state leading to misalignment of the circadian rhythm and poor sleep.39

In contrast, researchers found that early time-restricted feeding in healthy adults (food intake restricted to the early part of the day) provides greater benefits for insulin resistance and related metabolic parameters than mid-day time-restricted feeding.40 41 Why?

The thermic effect of food (TEF) is the amount of energy it takes for your body to digest, absorb, and metabolize the food you eat. Several studies show that TEF is greater in the morning compared to the evening. The storage of macronutrients like carbs and fats is lower in the morning.42 So it makes sense to eat breakfast after an hour or so upon waking but go to bed on an empty stomach.43

Move to Live

If you work the morning or afternoon shift, morning exercise improves your circadian rhythmicity and your executive performance.  Exercise at night usually delays the circadian phase which means it can make it harder to fall asleep at night and wake up in the morning. At the molecular level, exercise modulates the expression of clock genes.44  Consistency is a jewel. Regular exercise over a prolonged period, and not a single bout of exercise, has a considerable favorable impact on circadian rhythms, including the activity of clock genes.45

If a person has diabetes, exercise training in the afternoon seems to be more effective in reducing glucose production from the liver and improving sensitivity than when performed in the morning.46 Exercise training elicits superior metabolic effects when performed in the afternoon compared to morning in metabolically compromised humans. Physiology Reports. December 23, 2020))   Another study found that adults with overweight and obesity experience modest weight loss in response to an exercise program, but there does not appear to be an optimal time to exercise. There is evidence to suggest exercising at the same time each day is important for long‐term maintenance.47

Morning exercise improves executive cognitive abilities, focus, and decision making in older individuals.48 A ten-month randomized trial found that for obesity prevention and weight management exercising in the morning is the best time.49

If you have type 2 diabetes or prediabetes a 15-minute walk after meals is more effective in managing your blood glucose levels than having only one period of exercise during the day.50

Break Up Prolonged Sitting

Because obese and diabetic individuals have a higher risk of undesirable clot formation, it is necessary for them to exercise throughout the day and include five minutes of exercise after they have been sitting for three hours. Why? Sitting for two hours reduces the blood flow to the legs by 50%. When people sit, slack muscles do not contract to effectively pump blood to the heart. Blood can pool in the legs and affect the ability of blood vessels to expand from increased blood flow. Even slow 5-10 minute walks around the office can reverse harm caused to leg arteries during three hours of prolonged sitting.51

So, while daily exercise training is essential, it is equally necessary to exercise throughout the day even if you have five minutes at a time. A glider leg exerciser can help exercise your legs while sitting. A meta-analysis of seven acute, 1-day randomized crossover trials that included mixed-sex overweight or obese adults found that interrupting prolonged sitting with standing significantly reduced postprandial (after a meal) glucose levels.52

Naps

Short naps (10–20 min) have been associated with a wide range of health benefits in healthy young adults, including improved cognitive abilities and a reduction in daytime sleepiness and fatigue.53 Napping past 40 minutes is counterproductive to health. The best time to nap is before lunch. Why? If you are struggling with obesity, you are at high risk for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. Exercising, not napping, after a meal helps your glucose metabolism thereby lowering your risk for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. Put on those walking shoes!

 

© 2024, Wildwood Sanitarium. All rights reserved.

Disclaimer: The information in this article is educational and general in nature. Neither Wildwood Lifestyle Center, its entities, nor author intend this article as a substitute for medical diagnosis, counsel, or treatment by a qualified health professional.

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