Dr C’s check-up:

“Watch what you eat – not when!”

Some studies show that eating late can make us pile on the pounds, but I think that’s because it’s driven by boredom or tiredness, not hunger, so you raid the fridge and eat a whole cheesecake.

It’s not the fact you’re eating after 6pm, it’s the kind of food you’re having and how much of it that’s the problem.

IGNORE THE HYPE

Your body isn’t that bothered about what time you have dinner; it is bothered by the fact you’re adding the equivalent of a whole meal.

Look at big eaters in the wild, like lions for example. They kill something, eat it, then go to sleep for a couple of days. Sleep doesn’t affect their digestion – in fact, they need it – so I don’t believe that if we eat a big meal and then go to bed, we somehow don’t digest our food properly.

BE SENSIBLE

We may not sleep as well after a heavy meal, and you may digest slightly differently, but I don’t believe that makes you fatter – and I haven’t found any evidence to convince me otherwise.

A study often quoted when people argue that timing matters is one where two groups of mice were given the same high-fat, high-sugar diet.

Some had 24/7 access to food, others could only eat during an eight-hour window in the daytime. The first group gained weight, had higher cholesterol and started developing Type 2 diabetes, while the others stayed slim and healthy. All that shows is that if you eat all the time, you get fat, which is blindingly obvious!

If you eat the right number of calories in a day, late-night eating should have no impact on your waistline.

ASK YOURSELF WHY

Rather than when you’re eating, look at what you’re eating and why. Are you depressed? Can you not sleep? Are you so busy that you don’t get a chance to eat well in the day, so you’re ravenous at night? Could you reschedule things a bit better?

DON’T STRESS!

If you’re eating late, you’re probably tired having come home late, or knocking around the house struggling to sleep, so your food choices will be quick, convenient and comforting – and those choices tend to be fattening. Sometimes your work means you can’t do much about what time you eat, but don’t let this stress you out. Timing is far less important than what you eat. Spanish people eat dinner very late, but they have the best life expectancy in Europe.