You probably know the situation: you eat well all day, and then in the evening, an uncontrollable hunger suddenly appears. As if someone else is steering you — and your hand automatically reaches for the fridge.
This is not about weak willpower. Science shows that evening overeating has real physiological, hormonal, and psychological causes.
Hormones Work Differently in the Evening
In the evening, the systems that regulate appetite shift.
Leptin — the satiety hormone — naturally increases, while ghrelin — the hunger hormone — decreases.
But when you regularly eat late, these rhythms get disrupted.
A Cell Metabolism study (Vujović et al., 2022) showed that people who ate later had:
- higher ghrelin,
- lower leptin,
which directly increased their evening appetite.
Stress and Cortisol Amplify Cravings
By evening, the body is tired and reacts more strongly to stress.
In people prone to emotional eating, evening ghrelin rises even more.
Research in the International Journal of Obesity (Carnell et al., 2018) showed:
stress + evening hormone shifts = stronger cravings for sweets and fatty foods.
Poor Sleep Pushes Appetite Into the Evening
Lack of sleep alters appetite hormones the very next day.
Broussard et al. (2016) in Obesity found that after several nights of poor sleep:
- ghrelin increased,
- people consumed 300+ extra evening calories, mostly sugary snacks.
Circadian Rhythms: Our Bodies Are Built to Eat During the Day
The body is biologically programmed to eat earlier.
When calories shift to late hours, metabolism suffers.
Allison et al. (2021) showed that eating late (up to 23:00) leads to:
- weight gain,
- impaired insulin sensitivity,
even with the same calorie intake.
Night Eating Syndrome (NES)
This condition involves regular night eating and strong evening hunger.
A 2024 review (Bargagna & Casu) shows NES is driven by:
- hormonal shifts,
- stress,
- depressive symptoms,
- disrupted sleep–wake cycles.
This Is Not Weak Willpower
Evening overeating is biology, stress, sleep, and habits — not a personal failure.
If you struggle with evening hunger, it may indicate:
- hormonal imbalance,
- insulin resistance,
- sleep issues,
- chronic stress.
You can book an online consultation with doctors from REMED.care — we’ll help identify the real cause of your evening hunger and create a personalised correction plan.
That’s the first step toward making evenings peaceful again, not a “battle with the fridge.”