Should You Skip Dinner to Lose Weight?
减肥是否应该不吃晚饭？
王淑怡 供稿
There's an old saying about healthy eating: “Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and supper like a pauper.” In other words, front-load more calories in the early part of the day. But does that mean you should be skipping dinner if you want to lose weight? The short answer: Not necessarily.
关于健康饮食有一句老话，“早餐吃得像国王，午餐吃得像王子，晚餐吃得像乞丐”。也就是说，你可以在早上摄入更多的卡路里。但是，这是否意味着如果你想减肥，就应该不吃晚餐？答案是，未必如此。
In a January 2021 Nutrients study, researchers found that college-aged students who regularly skipped dinner gained more weight than their counterparts who — for the most part — ate dinner daily. Dinner-skippers gained about 10 percent of their body weight over the six-year study period and were also more likely to be in the overweight/obese category (BMI≥25kg/m2). These findings were consistent in both people assigned male at birth and people assigned female at birth.
2021年1月，在《营养素》（Nutrients）的一项研究中，研究人员发现，在大多数情况下，经常不吃晚餐的大学生比每天吃晚餐的大学生体重增加得更多。在六年的研究期间，不吃晚餐的人体重大约增加了10%，而且更有可能属于超重或肥胖人群（体重指数≥25kg/m2），以上结果对于男女来说均是如此。
“People who skip dinner still eat throughout the evening, they just tend to eat more snack-like foods, which is what would lead to weight gain,” says a researcher, “From my experience, most likely load up on snacks that tend to lack nutrition, are low in fiber and protein, and high in sugar and carbs. These types of food rarely fill you up but can lead to eating more.”
“不吃晚餐的人晚上仍然会吃东西，他们只是倾向于吃更多零食类的食物，这是导致他们体重增加的原因，”一名研究人员表示，“根据我的经验，最可能吃的零食往往缺乏营养，纤维和蛋白质含量低，而糖和碳水化合物含量高。这类食物无法让你吃饱，反而会让你吃得更多。”
Still, there's other research that indicates skipping dinner could encourage weight loss. For instance, the research, based on a seven-year dietary analysis of 50,000 adults, found that body weight, measured by body mass index, corresponds with when we eat and how often we eat. Specifically, people who eat larger breakfasts and adopt an 18-hour overnight fast, say from 1 pm to 7 am, have the lowest body weights. Those who ate more than three meals, or three meals plus snacks, had higher BMIs.
不过，还有其他的研究证明，不吃晚饭有利于减肥。例如，在对五万名成年人长达七年的饮食分析的基础上，有研究发现体重指数与进食时间和进食频率相关。具体而言，早餐吃得多、18小时（下午1点至早上7点）空腹的人，体重指数最低。一天吃三顿以上，或者三餐加零食，体重指数会更高一些。
Skipping dinner seems to work in the above study because participants were essentially intermittent fasting versus forgoing dinner and then having a snackfest later in the evening. “When people implement intermittent fasting, skipping dinner can be a powerful weight-loss tool,” says the researcher, “this type of fasting is called circadian rhythm fasting and mimics our traditional eating patterns. The goal is to eat when the sun comes up and finish eating when the sun goes down. Eating in line with your circadian rhythms can make for better weight management as well as improved sleep, etc.”
在上述研究中，不吃晚餐似乎很有效，但这是因为参与者基本是间歇性禁食，而不是不吃晚餐，然后在晚上吃零食。“当人们采用间歇性禁食法时，不吃晚餐可以成为一个强有力的减肥方式，”研究人员表示，“这种类型的禁食被称为昼夜节律禁食，模仿我们的传统饮食习惯，即在太阳升起和落山时进食。按照昼夜节律进食可以帮助你更好地控制体重，改善睡眠等。”
Of course, this intermittent fasting approach isn't for everyone. People who maintain highly active lifestyles, for instance, and need adequate fuel to power morning runs or help muscle fibers recover from intense evening workouts like weightlifting might not benefit.
当然，这种间歇性禁食并不适合所有人。比如，对那些日常生活高度耗能的人来说，这种禁食可能没有益处；他们需要充足的燃料，来为晨跑提供动力、或使肌肉纤维从高强度的夜间锻炼（例如举重）后得到恢复。
If you're looking to lose 10 pounds, eating a healthy and light dinner will help your body maintain its functions. Also, dinner is important because after a long day full of activities, your body needs to fuel up. It is unhealthy if you skip your dinner or consume way too much for dinner. So, the key is to maintain balance.
如果你想要减重10磅，吃一顿健康和清淡的晚餐能够帮助你的身体维持各项功能。此外，晚餐十分重要，因为经过一整天的活动，你的身体需要补充能量。如果你不吃晚餐或晚餐吃得太多，都是不健康的，关键是要保持平衡。
【VOCABULARY】
1. pauper n. 乞丐；穷人；靠救济度日者
2. front-load v. 将（费用、经历等）更多地用于前期
3. nutrient n. 营养物
4. BMI n. 体重指数（body mass index的缩写）
5. intermittent fasting 间歇性禁食；断食疗法
6. circadian rhythm 生理节律； 近昼夜节律；日周期节律
7. mimics v. 模仿
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