A Smartphone App Reveals Erratic Diurnal Eating Patterns in Humans that Can Be Modulated for Health Benefits

• Published in: Cell metabolism Vol. 22; no. 5; pp. 789 - 798
• Main Authors: Gill, Shubhroz, Panda, Satchidananda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 03.11.2015
• Subjects: Adult; Body Weight; Eating - physiology; Energy Intake - physiology; Feeding Behavior - physiology; Female; Humans; Male; Smartphone
• ISSN: 1550-4131; 1932-7420; 1932-7420
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2015.09.005

A diurnal rhythm of eating-fasting promotes health, but the eating pattern of humans is rarely assessed. Using a mobile app, we monitored ingestion events in healthy adults with no shift-work for several days. Most subjects ate frequently and erratically throughout wakeful hours, and overnight fasting duration paralleled time in bed. There was a bias toward eating late, with an estimated <25% of calories being consumed before noon and >35% after 6 p.m. “Metabolic jetlag” resulting from weekday/weekend variation in eating pattern akin to travel across time zones was prevalent. The daily intake duration (95% interval) exceeded 14.75 hr for half of the cohort. When overweight individuals with >14 hr eating duration ate for only 10–11 hr daily for 16 weeks assisted by a data visualization (raster plot of dietary intake pattern, “feedogram”) that we developed, they reduced body weight, reported being energetic, and improved sleep. Benefits persisted for a year. [Display omitted] •The daily eating pattern in healthy adults is highly variable from day to day•More than half of the adults eat for 15 hr or longer every day•Sleep duration parallels the fasting duration•Reducing the daily eating duration can contribute to weight loss Gill et al. developed a smartphone app to monitor food intake in healthy adults, revealing frequent and erratic daily eating patterns rather than the self-reported three daily meals, leading to “metabolic jetlag.” In a pilot study, overweight individuals using the app to eat for only 10–11 hr/day experienced sustained weight loss.