Body clock dysregulation could lead to obesity

Researchers have investigated how "body clock dysregulation" might affect obesity-related metabolic disorders.

The team was led by Dr. Chaodong Wu, associate professor in the department of nutrition and food sciences of Texas A and M's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Dr. David Earnest, professor in the department of neuroscience and experimental therapeutics, Texas A and M Health Science Center.

Earnest said animal sleeping and eating patterns, including those of humans, are subject to a circadian rhythmicity, asserting and previous studies have shown an association between the dysregulation of circadian or body clock rhythms and some metabolic disorders.

Wu said circadian clocks in peripheral tissues and cells drive daily rhythms and coordinate many physiological processes, including inflammation and metabolism.

He said this study affirms that eating unhealthy foods causes health problems and that it's much worse to eat unhealthy foods at the wrong time. It also indicates that "time-based treatment may provide better management of metabolic diseases.

He said that to promote human health, we need not only to eat healthy foods, but also more importantly to keep a healthy lifestyle, which includes avoiding sleeping late and eating at night.

The study has been published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.