People who are more active at night – often referred to as night owls – have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a study. Those who stay up late are more likely to smoke or have an unhealthy diet, researchers said, although they stressed the increased diabetes risk may not be down to lifestyle alone. Night owls concerned about their diabetes risk should try not to eat late at night, they suggested.
The Dutch study, which will be presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Madrid, used data from the Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity. Researchers analysed sleep timing, waist circumference and the body mass index (BMI) of 5,026 people. Of the group, 1,576 had MRI scans to measure visceral and liver fat, while electronic health records were used to check how people had type 2 diabetes.
Patients were categorised into three groups, or “chronotypes”, based on their sleep timing; late, early and intermediate. Dr Jeroen van der Velde, of Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, said: “Previous studies have indicated that a late chronotype – preferring to go to bed late and wake up later – is associated with an unhealthy lifestyle. “Late chronotypes are more likely to smoke or have an unhealthy diet, for example, and it has been suggested this is why they are at higher risk of obesity and metabolic disorders including type 2 diabetes.
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