Some studies also show that late-night work or study particularly among the young, will lead to late-night eating, noted a report in The Times of India based on a report ‘How India Eats’ published by Swiggy and Bain & Company.
Hand in hand with staying up night for work or study or simply watching movies for too long which includes more than 6 hours a day leads to regular midnight gluttony.
This subsequent development has led to the increase in ‘4am food order’. “My friends and I work have poor work-life balance, as everyone has really long working hours, which is why it is in the night we are able to have some time for us. So usually when on Fridays or Saturdays, we are up all night and either head to a 24×7 outlet or a restaurant in Delhi in the early hours of the day or order food online. We order a plate of chhole bhature, a kathi roll or a bun maska, and then sleep till the afternoon,” says Madhur Soni, while a manager for Strategy & Special Operations for a conglomerate in Delhi Pratishtha Gupta says “I usually intercept our 1:30 am hunger pangs, with pizza, paranthas or North Indian food delivery.”
Cooking seems to be an alternative for CAT aspirants Priyanshu, who’s studying in a PG in Ghaziabad when hungry while also studying the whole night. He says, “I usually stay up all night to study so there is always a point when I feel hungry and I have to order food. In that case I usually order paranthas from food delivery when the time is between 3-5 am since I live in a PG. I don’t really have the privilege to cook or have the energy to cook for myself.”
According to Swiggy’s food marketplace CEO Rohit Kapoor, “There is a broad range of dishes being consumed as the late-night binging has now spilled over to the early-morning bingeing phase.”
What is Delhi eating between 4am – 6am?
Such light, easy to digest food is probably what people are ordering just before staring there sleep early morning, but no, the most ordered meals in the time slot of 4 am to 6 am in NCR has many thick dishes to offer.
- Burger
- Rolls
- Pizzas
- Dry starters such as kebabs, tikkas, 65s
- Parathas
- Curry items such as butter paneer,etc
- Momos
- Sandwich
- Fries
- Noodles
A nutritionist’s
take: Anytime bingeing impacts sleep and gut health
binge a few times in a day and how does it affect your health- “Sleep and digestive health are worse for the more frequently different types of foods are consumed.”
Both illness and health exist. While the entire context in society is changing including the period of eating, any kind of binge-eating at any time is a risk. A little snacking of unhealthy foods in between meals Such is the pattern of lifestyle imbalance leading to numerous metabolic disorders like PCOD in women, insulin resistant patterns, thyroid, diabetes etc. Clean vegetables and natural juices are consumed, as there is always a feel of toxicity from all the wrong eating; however fast food junk fills, the cravings in these circumstances. Other nutritional deficits have been directly linked to impaired sleep quality due to obesity where high caloric insufficient nutrition, poor sleep, and increasing junk calories converge. According to Sakshi Salwan, dietician and nutritionist, it can also cause digestive problems since the rest and sleep phase underplays metabolism and digestives.
‘For most people, it is chhole bhature, dosas, and patties. Some however, order idli or appe.’
In the time frame 4-6 am, in Delhi nearly 1000 outlets are live, establishing this city as one with the highest number of active outlet pan India. Bittu, a staff at one of the Barakhamba Road resto which is open from 4 am says, “About half of the restaurant’s sitting capacity is occupied at the beginning of each day. Some guests settle down for light meals such as idli and appe while others, ask for chhole puri, chhole bhature patty or podi dosa. Early morning, diners are comprised of travelers going to pray at Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, food adventure seekers, and even tourists who arrive early morning at the resto while it is still quiet. Even many people come from Gurgaon after a party throughout the night.’
NRAI’s India Food Services Report 2024 has stated that for people from Delhi there is an increase of around 32% in how often they go out for food where 3% say that they would eat after 10:30pm while 5% would do so before 10 am. It has also been provided in the report that kicks and other QSR operators recommend that the round-the-clock operations should first be tested in Tier-1 and 2 cities followed by the smaller towns. “As India heads for a more fancied and developed economy, emerging opportunities will come with probably people working in non conventional working hours.’
“Such operations will allow them more variety (of food/restaurants) to choose from,” was stated in the report.
