Fasting at Night May Aid Glucose Metabolism in Night-Shift Workers
THURSDAY, Nov. 14, 2024 -- Fasting at night prevents impairments in glucose tolerance among simulated night-shift work, according to a study published online Oct. 18 in Diabetologia.
Stephanie Centofanti, Ph.D., from University of South Australia in Adelaide, and colleagues assigned healthy, non-shift-working adults without obesity to fasting-at-night (20 individuals), snack-at-night (17 individuals), or meal-at-night (18 individuals) conditions.
The researchers found that night-shift work significantly impaired insulin sensitivity, as measured by insulin area under the curve (AUC) and the insulin sensitivity index across all conditions. Measures of insulinogenic index were significantly heightened in the fasting-at-night condition only, resulting in a day-by-condition interaction in glucose AUC, with glucose tolerance impaired in the meal-at-night and snack-at-night conditions compared with the fasting-at-night condition. There was also a day-by-condition interaction for nonesterified fatty acid AUC, which was higher in the meal-at-night and snack-at-night conditions compared with the fasting-at-night condition.
"The timing of food intake has a critical effect on glucose metabolism during simulated night-shift work, which was readily amendable to a meal retiming intervention," the authors write. "Meal timing advice should be considered for existing dietary guidelines, industry recommendations, and workplace policy to improve health and reduce the burden of metabolic disease on night-shift workers."
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Read this next
Dementia Odds Significantly Increase With More Psychiatric Comorbidities
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 10, 2025 -- Dementia odds significantly increase with the number of psychiatric comorbidities, according to a study published online Sept. 9 in BMJ Mental...
Sugar Consumption Positively Related to Temperature
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 10, 2025 -- Sugar consumption is positively related to temperature, mainly driven by increased intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and frozen desserts, according...
Bans of Flavored E-Cigarettes May Have Shifted Some to Traditional Smoking
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 10, 2025 -- Statewide comprehensive flavor bans on flavored electronic cigarettes may have had unintended consequences by encouraging substitution...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.