Research paper
Garaulet M, Gómez-Abellán P. Timing of food intake and obesity: a novel association. Physiology & Behavior. 2014;134:44-50. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.01.001. PMID: 24467926.
Why we cite it
Review arguing that meal timing is an independent variable affecting obesity, linking behavioural, physiological and molecular mechanisms through the circadian clock.
Two things to hold on to when citing it (recorded 2026-09-02, card SP97Y7).
1. It hedges throughout and this record did not. The abstract says unusual feeding time ”might produce unhealthy consequences”, that new data ”suggest” a temporal component, that the daily order of adipose genes ”appears to be crucial”, and that the timing of high-energy meals ”may be decisive” with changes that ”could have metabolic consequences.” The Extracted knowledge below states several of these flatly — ”is crucial”, ”demonstrating circadian timing… independently contributes to weight gain.” That last one is a mouse study, and mice fed against their active phase are not a demonstration about people. Read those bullets as the review’s proposals.
2. The headline study is the authors’ own. The abstract’s own words are ”we recently showed that the timing of the main meal was predictive of weight loss” — Garaulet et al. 2013, reviewed by Garaulet. That is normal and not a fault, but it means this record is not independent corroboration of its own central finding, and a page should not present the review and the study as two sources agreeing. Reviews the authors’ own landmark 2013 study (420 participants, 20-week intervention) showing late lunch eaters lost significantly less weight despite identical caloric intake, the Jakubowicz et al. 2013 RCT showing high-calorie breakfast outperforms high-calorie dinner for weight loss, and animal studies demonstrating feeding during the inactive circadian phase causes greater weight gain. Integrates the authors’ pioneering work on clock gene expression in human adipose tissue. Referenced in companion 426 for evidence that meal timing affects metabolic outcomes.
DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.01.001 · PubMed 24467926 · Publisher