Diets high in fat can throw off the body's internal clock, a new study by researchers at Northwestern University has found.

美国西北大学(Northwestern University)研究员的一项新研究发现，摄取高脂肪食物可能会扰乱人体内部生物钟。

The study, published in Cell Metabolism, found that mice fed a fatty diet for two weeks showed significant behavioural changes. Their sleep/wake cycle lengthened suggesting the brain mechanism that controls the timing of activity and rest had been affected.

该项研究发表在《细胞代谢》(Cell Metabolism)上。研究发现，摄入两周高脂肪食物的老鼠表现出明显的行为变化。它们的作息周期变长，表明控制作息时间的大脑机能受到影响。

When kept in 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness the mice – which are nocturnal – began consuming more food when the lights were on as early as the first week.

研究人员将老鼠放在光照下12小时，黑暗中12小时。在有光照的情况下，老鼠（喜欢在夜间活动）开始摄入更多的食物，这种现象早在第一周就表现出来了。

They also displayed altered activity in key genes that control the roughly 24-hour circadian rhythm.

它们控制着大致24小时生理节奏的关键基因活动也表现出变化。