A series of recent studies by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators found that “Disruption of the circadian clocks that keep the body and its cells entrained to the 24-hour day-night cycle plays a critical role in weight gain.” In fact, the most recent study published on August 8th in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences shows that “fat cell precursors commit to becoming fat cells only during the circadian cycle phase corresponding to evening in humans,” which is only a 4-hour window, and suggests that “stress and other factors that throw the body’s ‘clocks’ out of rhythm may contribute to weight gain.” This finding is important because it could shed light on new, more effective treatment plans for obesity like “drugs that help reset circadian rhythms in people with obesity as an alternative to more invasive treatments like bariatric surgery. Another possibility might be therapies targeting the 4-hour window when fat cell precursors commit to becoming fat cells to prevent excess fat accumulation.”