The secret to losing weight: An earlier lunch?

Eating your big meal earlier in the day could help you shed pounds faster

The early bird looses the weight.
(Image credit: ThinkStock/iStockphoto)

Want to lose weight? You might want to keep your eye on the clock. Researchers at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Tufts University, and the University of Murcia in Spain may have stumbled on a neat little life-hack for helping people drop pounds: Eat lunch early.

In this study, published in the International Journal of Obesity, scientists enlisted 420 overweight participants in a 20-week weight-loss program in Spain. Unlike the United States, lunch in Spain is typically the largest meal of the day, accounting for 40 percent of a person's daily caloric intake. In this case, researchers divided participants into two groups: One early-lunch group (before 3 p.m.) and one late-lunch group (after 3 p.m.), and monitored their progress closely.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Chris Gayomali is the science and technology editor for TheWeek.com. Previously, he was a tech reporter at TIME. His work has also appeared in Men's Journal, Esquire, and The Atlantic, among other places. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.