The irregular work schedule that comes with being a driver can be a huge obstacle for eating healthfully. Hours of Service (HOS), weather, loading and unloading delays, appointments, breakdowns, and traffic are all factors that can affect your eating habits and your dinner schedule.
A study published in the journal Obesity found that the body's internal clock, the circadian system, increases hunger and cravings for sweet, starchy, and salty food in the evening. The urge to consume more in the evening may have helped our ancestors store energy to survive in times of food scarcity, but in the current world of high-caloric food, those late-night dinners or snacks can result in substantial weight gain.
"Of course, there are many factors that affect weight gain, principally diet and exercise, but the time of eating also has an effect. We found with this study that the internal circadian system also likely plays a role in today's obesity epidemic because it intensifies hunger at night," said Steven Shea, Ph.D., director for the Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology at Oregon Health & Science University and senior author on the study. "People who eat a lot in the evening, especially high-calorie foods and beverages, are more likely to be overweight or obese."
The human body handles nutrients differently depending on the time of day. For example, sugar tolerance is impaired in the evening. Consuming more calories in the evening predisposes people to more energy storage and we simply don't expend as much energy after an evening meal in comparison to morning meals.
Also, artificial light keeps people up later than they probably should be and often people don't get enough sleep. "If you stay up later, during a time when you're hungrier for high-calorie foods, you're more likely to eat during that time," Shea said. "You then store energy and get less sleep, both of which contribute to weight gain."
- Eat larger, higher-calorie meals earlier in the day. This requires some planning ahead for truck drivers, but it can be done! Make a lunch the night before with lean, high protein foods. A chicken or turkey sandwich for lunch and a snack such as apples and peanut butter will give you enough calories and energy to get you through the day and you won’t be starving come dinner time.
- Choose smaller, lower-calorie meals in the evening. Try to avoid high carbohydrate and sugar intake in the evening as this energy will be stored as fat. Avoid drinking soda and stick to water, milk or tea to go along with your dinner.
- Go to bed earlier. We know you like to burn the midnight oil catching up on the latest articles on Team Run Smart, but try to get your reading and emails done earlier in the day. A good time for this might be while you are waiting at a dock.
Your irregular work schedule does not have to be a huge obstacle for eating healthfully. Plan your meals to eat a larger, higher-calorie meal during the day and start avoiding those late nights and late-night cravings.
Time for Dinner?
What time do you eat dinner while you are on the road?
This research was supported by NIH-R01-HL76409 and NIH-K24 HL076446 to SAS, NCRR GCRC M01 RR02635; NIH-P30-HL101299 and NIHR01-HL094806 in support of FAJLS; National Space Biomedical Research Institute through NASA NCC 9-58 in support of CJM.
Story Source: The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Oregon Health & Science University.
Journal Reference: Frank A.J.L. Scheer, Christopher J. Morris, Steven A. Shea. The internal circadian clock increases hunger and appetite in the evening independent of food intake and other behaviors. Obesity, 2013; 21 (3): 421 DOI: 10.1002/oby.20351