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Do you usually eat breakfast at the same time each day, or do busy mornings sometimes leave you skipping breakfast and eating an early lunch instead? A new study suggests that when you eat your first and latest meals daily may be tied to longevity. While earlier studies have connected breakfast skipping and eating late at night with worse health outcomes, researchers have had less evidence about whether eating at certain times of day carries different risks.
An internal clock that follows a roughly 24-hour cycle influences hormone levels, metabolism, and how cells use nutrients for energy. Because metabolism tends to be more active earlier in the day, eating at that time may work more closely with the body’s natural rhythm. Eating later could potentially put extra stress on processes that regulate blood sugar, inflammation, and cardiovascular function.
The analysis included 31,044 adults over 40 years old who were followed for a median of 8.6 years, during which 7,129 deaths occurred. Each participant reported what they had consumed during the previous day and the time they consumed it. Rather than defining breakfast by the type of food or traditional mealtime, the researchers counted the first food or drink containing calories consumed after 4 a.m. as their initial meal. The last calorie-containing intake marked the end of the day’s eating window.
The later people ate their first meal, the greater their observed mortality risk appeared to be. Those who ate before 8 a.m. had the lowest risk, while risks climbed as the first meal was delayed. People who waited until after noon to consume their first calories had a 29% higher risk of death from any cause and a 43% higher risk of cardiovascular death compared with earlier eaters.
When people ate their final meal also seemed to matter. Contrary to the idea that earlier meals are always healthier, the lowest mortality risk was seen among those who finished eating between 7 and 8 p.m. This time frame emerged as the most favorable last-meal window in the analysis.
The study cannot establish that meal timing directly causes changes in longevity. Even so, the findings support the idea that healthy eating may involve more than food choices, it may also depend on when we eat.
To view the original scientific study click below:
Meal timing and eating window with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality and life expectancy: population-based cohort study
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