Overcoming Night Eating Syndrome: A Step-by-Step Guide to Breaking the Cycle
By Kelly C. Allison, Albert J. Stinkard, Sara L. Thier



"Written by a preeminent medical authority who has extensively research this newly identified eating disorder, this is the first book targeted to sufferers of night eating syndrome, or NES: a condition in which individuals consume more than 50 percent of their daily calories after eight o’clock in the evening."

Overcoming Night Eating Syndrome: A Step-by-Step Guide to Breaking the Cycle
Customer Reviews
Night Eating Syndrome: Overview (high cortisol, low melatonin and leptin)
Endocrine controls of eating: CCK, leptin, and ghrelin

Hormone link. Tests had shown that people with the condition experienced a decrease during the night in levels of two hormones linked to sleep and appetite, melatonin and leptin. At the same time levels of the stress hormone cortisol, rose. This suggested that it may be possible to treat night eating with melatonin and leptim to promote sleep and reduce feelings of hunger.

Asked what damage habitual night eating might do, Dr Stunkard said: "The major harm is that people are made very distraught by it. They don't get enough sleep and a lot of them are sleeping during the day. It may also contribute to obesity because these people are eating more than other people."

He said carbohydrates stimulated the production of insulin, which led to elevated levels in the brain of tryptophans - the substances from which serotonin is derived. As well as helping people sleep, serotonin is a "feel-good" chemical which wards off depression. Dr Stunkard said this explained why high carbohydrate products are often described as "comfort food". (BBC NEWS)