Late-night eating, poor sleep quality, and emotional eating: Stronger predictors of overweight and obesity than social jetlag and eating jetlag

May 19, 2026Chronobiology international

Late-night eating, poor sleep, and emotional eating predict overweight and obesity more than social and eating schedule shifts

AI simplified

Circadian Biology on OpenScience ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Abstract

Higher levels of social jetlag (SJL) and eating jetlag (EJL) were not found to predict overweight or obesity in a sample of 444 adults.

Individuals with a higher body mass index tended to be older and exhibited morning chronotype characteristics.
Evening chronotypes showed greater sleep-corrected social jetlag (SJLsc).
Poor sleep quality and emotional eating were linked to obesity.
The timing of the last eating event was associated with obesity, while variability in meal timing was not.

AI simplified

Social jetlag (SJL) and eating jetlag (EJL) have been proposed as behavioral indicators of circadian misalignment; however, evidence linking these indicators to obesity remains inconsistent. This cross-sectional, case-control study examined whether higher SJL and EJL levels were associated with increased odds of overweight or obesity. A total of 444 adults ( = 211 with a healthy body weight and = 233 with overweight/obesity) were included. Sleep quality, chronotype, and night eating behaviors were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), and Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ), respectively. Cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating, and emotional eating were evaluated using the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ). Circadian misalignment was measured using SJL, sleep-corrected SJL (SJLsc), EJL, and meal-specific jetlag metrics. Individuals with higher body mass index were older and more likely to exhibit morning chronotype characteristics, whereas evening types demonstrated greater SJLsc. Neither SJL nor EJL emerged as independent predictors of overweight/obesity, suggesting that weekly variability in sleep or eating timing may play a limited role in this population. Poor sleep quality, emotional eating, and the timing of the last eating event, rather than variability in meal timing, were associated with obesity. Weight management interventions should prioritize absolute meal timing, unhealthy eating behaviors, and sleep quality. n n

Full Text

Full text is available at the source.

View full text ↗

Late-night eating, poor sleep quality, and emotional eating: Stronger predictors of overweight and obesity than social jetlag and eating jetlag

Abstract

Full Text

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the circadian biology brief

Abstract

Full Text

Related papers

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the circadian biology brief