REVIEW   

Minerva Medica 2022 February;113(1):172-88

DOI: 10.23736/S0026-4806.21.07207-4

Copyright © 2021 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

The clock diet: a practical nutritional guide to manage obesity through chrononutrition

Luigi BARREA ^{1, 2} ✉, Evelyn FRIAS-TORAL ^{3, 4}, Sara APRANO ^{2, 5}, Bianca CASTELLUCCI ^{2, 5}, Gabriella PUGLIESE ^{2, 5},
Dolores RODRIGUEZ-VEINTIMILLA ⁶, Giovanni VITALE ^{7, 8}, Davide GENTILINI ^{9, 10}, Annamaria COLAO ^{2, 5, 11}, Silvia SAVASTANO ^{2, 5}, Giovanna MUSCOGIURI ^{2, 5, 11}

¹ Dipartimento di Scienze Umanistiche, Università Telematica Pegaso, Naples, Italy; ² Centro Italiano per la Cura e il Benessere del Paziente con Obesità (C.I.B.O), Unit of Endocrinology, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, University Medical School of Naples, Naples, Italy; ³ Research Committee, SOLCA Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Ecuador; ⁴ Palliative Care Residency, Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Ecuador; ⁵ Unit of Endocrinology, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University Medical School of Naples, Naples, Italy; ⁶ Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics Service, SOLCA Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Ecuador; ⁷ Laboratory of Geriatric and Oncologic Neuroendocrinology Research, Istituto Auxologico Italiano IRCCS, Cusano Milanino, Milan, Italy; ⁸ Department of Medical Biotechnologies and Translational Medicine, University of Milan, Milan, Italy; ⁹ Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy; ¹⁰ Unit of Bioinformatics and Statistical Genomics, Istituto Auxologico Italiano IRCCS, Cusano Milanino, Milan, Italy; ¹¹ Cattedra Unesco “Educazione alla salute e allo sviluppo sostenibile”, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy

Chronobiology studies the biological rhythms or circadian cycles of living organisms and their adaptation to external changes. Biological rhythms can affect hormone production cycles such as sleep/wake, and nutrition/fasting, but these factors can also alter the circadian rhythm (CR). In recent years, numerous studies have highlighted how feeding times and frequency can influence biological rhythms. Additionally, individuals’ chronotype, working shifts, and food intake can make a deep impact on people’s tendency to develop obesity and metabolic diseases. In this context, a single food and a specific combination of these, can also affect the CR and fasting cycle and consequently body weight and viceversa. The purpose of the review is to propose practical nutritional recommendations to help in resynchronizing the circadian rhythm as a tool in weight control.

KEY WORDS: Circadian clocks; Chronobiology discipline; Obesity; Endocrinology; Nutrients; Diet