Effects of a late supper on digestion and the absorption of dietary carbohydrates in the following morning

Yukie Tsuchida,Yoshiaki Sone,Sawa Hata

doi:10.1186/1880-6805-32-9

Abstract

BackgroundOur previous experiment showed that the light intensity exposed on the subjects during evening time had no effect in the following morning on the efficiency of the digestion and absorption of dietary carbohydrates ingested at a usual suppertime. People who keep late hours usually have a late suppertime; thus, we examined the effects of a late suppertime on gastrointestinal activity in the following morning in comparison to that of a usual suppertime.MethodsTwelve female university students volunteered as paid participants. The breath hydrogen test was carried out to estimate the amount of unabsorbed dietary carbohydrates and the percentage of the total amount of dietary carbohydrates in the breakfast that were unabsorbed, as well as to estimate oro-cecal transit time. The respiratory quotient was also measured to find the ratio of carbohydrates/lipid metabolism in the post-breakfast state. Subjects’ peripheral blood glucose concentration was measured by a blood glucose meter. The subjects participated under two different experimental conditions: with a usual suppertime (having supper at 18:00) and a late suppertime (having supper at 23:00).ResultsThe efficiency of the digestion and absorption of dietary carbohydrates in the breakfast under late suppertime conditions was higher than that under usual suppertime conditions. Usual or late suppertime had no effect on the ratio of carbohydrates to lipids oxidized after the subjects had breakfast. There were significant differences in the blood glucose level between the two conditions at 30, 60, 120, 150, and 180 minutes after having breakfast, whereas the mean blood glucose level under late suppertime conditions was significantly higher than under usual suppertime conditions.ConclusionsHaving a late supper showed a worse effect on postprandial serum glucose profiles the following morning. This study confirmed that keeping our usual meal timing is important for our health.

Highlights

Our previous experiment showed that the light intensity exposed on the subjects during evening time had no effect in the following morning on the efficiency of the digestion and absorption of dietary carbohydrates ingested at a usual suppertime
The mean oro-cecal transit time (OCTT) obtained under the late condition was significantly longer than that under the usual condition (P = 0.023), and unabsorbed dietary carbohydrates (UDC) and %UDC under the usual condition were significantly higher than those under the late condition (P = 0.029, P = 0.016, respectively)
These differences in UDC and %UDC indicated that the efficiency of digestion and absorption of the dietary carbohydrates in breakfast under the late suppertime condition was higher than that under the usual suppertime condition

Summary

Introduction

Our previous experiment showed that the light intensity exposed on the subjects during evening time had no effect in the following morning on the efficiency of the digestion and absorption of dietary carbohydrates ingested at a usual suppertime. Young Japanese peoples’ lifestyle of keeping late hours means their suppertime is occurring later in the evening [1,2] This lifestyle of keeping late hours (a nocturnal lifestyle) is a worldwide trend and may be due to the recent rapid development of an artificial light environment at night. Concerning to the effect of late meal on the obesity, Sato et al reported that a single loading of late evening meal enhances average blood glucose over 24 hours, but does not reduce 24-hour energy expenditure [7] These reports suggested that unusual eating rhythms, such as having supper late, have some effects on human energy metabolism, probably including the gastrointestinal activities

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