College-students do not always have a normal pattern to their day. At times waking up at 11am or noon, students have breakfast at lunchtime, lunch more towards dinnertime, and then “dinner” quite late in the night. Even when students do have normal eating and sleeping schedules, late night eating seems to still occur either due to being up late studying or out late with friends. "Where I see a lot of problems is late night eating -- whatever time that may be," said Dr. Penny Kris-Etherton, a distinguished nutrition professor. “Whether it's 11 o'clock at night, or 2 o'clock in the morning after students have been out partying, they go and eat. In most situations, they're eating high calorie foods.
First of all, with the availability of mainly high-calorie foods during the late hours of the night, students who are up studying late are drawn to the appealing taste of fattening fried food to cope with the exhaustion and workload. When up for countless hours studying, students are awake for more hours, which causes the feeling of the need to eat. At 1 am in the morning what is there to eat? Late Night. Instead of reaching for an apple or trail mix, many students are sucked into the appeal of the satisfaction of the greasy, yummy foods that fill the cafeteria during Late Night.
First of all, with the availability of mainly high-calorie foods during the late hours of the night, students who are up studying late are drawn to the appealing taste of fattening fried food to cope with the exhaustion and workload. When up for countless hours studying, students are awake for more hours, which causes the feeling of the need to eat. At 1 am in the morning what is there to eat? Late Night. Instead of reaching for an apple or trail mix, many students are sucked into the appeal of the satisfaction of the greasy, yummy foods that fill the cafeteria during Late Night.
If dinner had to be skipped due to meetings or class, the only option available after 8:30 pm consist of high fat “meals” available at Late Night. As research shows, late-night eating is the leading cause for obesity in college students. People’s bodies, especially the developing bodies of college-aged students, need the resting period that occurs during the 12 hours of the evening/night to work on important fat burning mechanisms. In a recent study conducted by Dr Satchidananda Panda, an associate professor at the Salk Institute in California, those that eat for nine or 12 hours in the day did not gain nearly as much weight as those that had the same amount of food but at any time during the 24-hour daily period. With heavy options being the prominent food option available during the time when most Penn State students are awake, people are going to bed full of fried food and will not have the proper digestion and fat burning necessary to maintain a healthy weight.
How can you change late-night eating from fried, fatty foods to healthy, energizing options????
When hunger strikes around midnight, give these healthy options a shot
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Ants on a logA great combination of crunch, sweet, and savory these little snacks are jam packed with protein and vitamins! And are delicious and super cute :)
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CherriesSweet, a bit tart and filling, cherries are a super healthy late-night snack. And get this! The melatonin in them may even help you fall asleep faster if you are stressed out about an exam or overwhelmed with stress. A recent study even found that the tart cherry juice helps with insomnia. Grab about 12 cherries and enjoy this sweet yet perfectly tart snack!
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