Seasons affect metabolism, eating habits of mice, study says

New Delhi: A study conducted on mice to find the link between season and the metabolism of humans discovered that the eating habits of mice during winters may be better for their metabolic health than in summers, scientists said.

The mice exposed to ‘winter light’ gained less weight and fat than those exposed to 'summer light', the scientists from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, found.

"They have more rhythmicity in the way they eat over a 24-hour period, which then led to benefits in metabolic health," said Lewin Small, who carried out the research while a postdoc at Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research at the university.

Thus, the duration of exposure to light may affect how we eat and how we burn energy and could help us understand the link between seasons and the metabolism of humans, the researchers said in their study published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

They added that this study was the first of its kind to examine light hour's influence on metabolism in mice, which are not considered seasonal animals as, like humans, they do not breed only in specific seasons. Animals breeding in specific seasons gain weight before the breeding season to save energy supplies.

"We found that even in non-seasonal animals, differences in light hours between summer and winter do cause differences in energy metabolism. In this case, body weight, fat mass and liver fat content," said Small.

The study results are important to understand how light and seasons affect eating patterns, which might help us understand if and why some people gain more weight at a specific time of the year, according to Small.

"Differences in light between summer and winter could affect our hunger pathways and when we get hungry during the day," he said.

However, the study findings can not be extended to humans just yet, the researchers said.

"This is a proof of principle. Do differences in light hours affect energy metabolism? Yes, it does. Further studies in humans may find that altering our exposure to artificial light at night or natural light exposure over the year could be used to improve our metabolic health," said Juleen Zierath, senior author of the study and professor at the Center.