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Dinner Time 2: Effect of Delayed Eating or Sleeping on Metabolism

Dinner Time 2: Effect of Delayed Eating or Sleeping on Metabolism

Status
Completed
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04671797
Acronym
DT2
Enrollment
41
Registered
2020-12-17
Start date
2021-01-15
Completion date
2025-06-19
Last updated
2026-02-04

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Healthy

Keywords

healthy volunteers, fat oxidation, sleep, circadian, glucose

Brief summary

This study examines the acute impact of eating an "early" versus "late" dinner. "Early" and "late" will be customized to individuals based on the individuals' own circadian rhythms. Healthy adults will have the adults' circadian rhythm assessed by measuring the adults' dim light melatonin onset (DLMO). Based on the timing of DLMO, participants will be randomized to eating dinner before DLMO or after DLMO. The investigators will also compare the effects of delaying sleep relative to dinner time. Participants will eat meals in the laboratory and have serial plasma samples collected to examine profiles of free fatty acids, glucose, insulin, triglycerides, and oxidation of dietary fat.

Detailed description

Obesity is a worldwide health problem. Recent studies suggest that the timing of meals may be critically important for weight control and cardiovascular health. Consuming calories later in the day is associated with greater risks of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease. Interventional diet studies also show more effective weight loss with early, rather than later eating. The investigators conducted a randomized crossover study comparing the metabolic effect of a "routine" dinner (RD,18:00) with that of an isocaloric "late" dinner (LD, 22:00) in 20 healthy volunteers. The investigators recently published results of this study, which the investigators now refer to as "Dinner Time 1". Relative to RD, LD increased post-dinner glucose peak by \ 18% and lowered palmitate oxidation by \ 10%. However, it is still unclear whether LD-induced impaired metabolic dysfunction is caused by eating at the "wrong" time relative to the body's central circadian clock, or it is caused by eating too close to bedtime, when sleep reduces metabolic demands. To address this question, the investigators are now enlarging the scope of the present study, which the investigators now refer to as "Dinner Time 2". In Dinner Time 2, the investigators will examine the impacts of early dinner, late dinner, and the impact of delaying sleep after late dinner. The investigators will compare (1) the impact of early dinner time with later dinner time relative to DLMO with a routine sleep time; and (2) the impact of routine bedtime with late bedtime with a fixed late dinner time. The investigators will examine the nocturnal and next-morning metabolic profile in a 3-arm randomized crossover study of healthy volunteers: Arm 1: Early Dinner (dinner at DLMO-3, sleep at DLMO+2) Arm 2: Late Dinner (dinner at DLMO+1, sleep at DLMO+2) Arm 3: Late Dinner/Late Sleep (dinner at DLMO+1, sleep at DLMO+6) The investigators will use serial blood sampling to assess the metabolic response to meals, and use an ingested stable isotope \[(2H31)palmitate\] tracer to calculate the oxidation of dietary lipid eaten at the different times.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALEarly dinner

Dinner at DLMO-3, sleep at DLMO+2

BEHAVIORALLate Dinner

Dinner at DLMO+1, sleep at DLMO+2

BEHAVIORALLate Dinner + Late Sleep

Dinner at DLMO+1, sleep at DLMO+6

Sponsors

Johns Hopkins University
Lead SponsorOTHER
University of Arkansas
CollaboratorOTHER
National Marrow Donor Program
CollaboratorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 30 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion: * Healthy male and female adult volunteers, age 18-30 * BMI 18-30 kg/m2 * Accustomed to a bedtime before 1:00 A.M. or having mid-sleep on free days (MSF) earlier than 5 A.M. from the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (MCTQ) (to exclude extreme late chronotypes) Exclusions: * Sleep disorder including insomnia, sleep apnea, circadian rhythm disorder, restless leg syndrome, narcolepsy, shift work sleep disorder * Gastroesophageal reflux disease that affects ability to tolerate a dinner close to bed time. * Chronic use of sedative hypnotics, anxiolytics, opiates * Use of medications that can affect circadian rhythm (beta blockers, melatonin) * Active smoking (may interfere with metabolism and Clinical Research Unit (CRU) activities) * Diabetes (type 1 or 2) * HbA1c point of care \>= 6.5% * Kidney disease * Any known history of an inherited metabolic disorder * Pregnant or lactating female (pregnancy test will be required) * Professional or collegiate athlete * Travel across \>1 time zone within a 3-month period before and during the protocol * DLMO \> 24:00 will be excluded from the metabolic study visits

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Glucose (mg/dl)Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeksSerial blood samples taken during visit, 25 samples taken over 25 hours (One every hour) per visit.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Free Fatty Acids (FFA, mmol/L)Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeksSerial blood samples taken during visit, 25 samples taken over 25 hours (One every hour) per visit.
Change in Insulin (mcU/ml)Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeksSerial blood samples taken during visit, 25 samples taken over 25 hours (One every hour) per visit.
Change in Triglycerides (mg/dl)Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeksSerial blood samples taken during visit, 25 samples taken over 25 hours (One every hour) per visit.
Change in Oxidation of palmitate (percent of isotope enrichment)Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeksSerial blood samples taken during visit (14 samples per visit).
Change in melatonin [Dim light melatonin onset (DLMO)]At 2 weeks prior to baseline (samples drawn every 30 minutes, up to 7 hours)Serial saliva samples taken during visit, 14 samples taken over 7 hours (one sample every 30 minutes) to access change in melatonin levels (pg/ml) over 7 hours.
Sleep architectureBaseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeksSleep stage distribution by EEG during each of the 3 sleep studies.

Countries

United States

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORJonathan Jun, MD

Johns Hopkins University

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026