Figure 3.

The effects of meal frequency vs. timing on peripheral tissue clocks [from results of (105)]. The phase of Per2 expression was similar in all conditions for the tissues tested: liver, kidney, and submandibular gland. (A) Meal frequency, spreading calories equally into 2, 3, 4, or 6 meals per day, did not alter clock phase. (B) Daytime (inactive phase) feeding significantly advanced phase. (C) Using a three-meal schedule designed to mimic human eating habits, a “late dinner” meal (in the early inactive phase) caused a dramatic phase advance, which was partially reversed by splitting the dinner meal to include a “pre-dinner snack”.