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

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.

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.

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

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。

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。

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。

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。