The researchers from the University of California (San Francisco, USA) believe that overeating can lead to the same consequences as jetlag.
At Christmas, people often overeat and begin to have meals at night or late in the evening. The organism is not used to them at all. This causes stress as strong as jetlag.
Dr. Lewis Ptashek conducted an experiment on laboratory mice: the animals were given food only during the hours when they were normally asleep. One group of mice adjusted quickly, and the rodents were already awake at that moment to run around waiting for food: their biological rhythm had changed.
But the mice from the second group, which had a shortage of protein PKCγ, did not get used to the new regime: they still were asleep right at the time of eating. Ptashek believes this protein is a key issue in reinstalling the usual “food clock of the body”. The researchers are going to continue the research hoping that it will lead to a better understanding of the molecular basis of obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic syndromes.
