NIGHT SHIFTS MAY LEAD TO OVEREATING

Study links disrupted liver signals to overeating in night-shift workers

Working odd hours or night shifts was found to disrupt signals the liver sends to the brain telling it if eating is happening in sync with the body's clock, a result that researchers said could help treat the negative effects of eating at unusual times, such as overeating.

Eating at irregular times is said to be related to weight gain and diabetes, largely because it is not in sync with one's body clock, or circadian rhythm—a 24-hour cycle of physical, mental, and behavioral changes, including sleeping and eating. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, US, found that working unusual hours disturbs the liver's internal clock and its signals, because of which the brain over-compensates, thereby leading to over-eating at the wrong times.