Skipping Breakfast... Increases Risk of Premature Death!
The New York Post reported that a large-scale study, which included more than 31,000 adults over the age of 40 and was published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that the timing of the first meal of the day (breakfast) may be as closely linked to longevity as the quality of the food itself. The newspaper explained that those who delay their breakfast until the afternoon face a significantly higher risk of premature death compared to those who eat it in the early morning.
Participants in the study were asked to record their meal times within a 24-hour window, allowing researchers to calculate the interval between the first and last meals as an indicator of what is known as the “eating window.” According to the results, compared with those who ate breakfast between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m., the risk of death increased by 10 percent for those who ate between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m., and rose to 19 percent for those who ate between 10:00 a.m. and noon.
• A 29 percent increase in the risk of death from any cause among those who ate breakfast in the afternoon.
• A reduction in life expectancy of approximately 2.46 years at age 50 for those who delayed their breakfast.
• A U-shaped relationship between the timing of the last meal and mortality, with the risk increasing by 13 percent for those who finished eating before 7:00 p.m. and by 27 percent for those who had their last meal after midnight.
The newspaper quoted Chayale Shan, lead author of a previous similar study conducted by Massachusetts General Brigham, emphasizing that delaying food intake should be understood as a potential risk marker and a modifiable behavior, rather than definitive proof of a direct causal relationship.
The newspaper noted that the previous Massachusetts General Brigham study also linked later breakfast times in older age to an increased risk of premature death, as well as depression, fatigue, and oral health problems, pointing out that breakfast timing gradually delayed as participants accumulated health issues.
However, the researchers acknowledged the study’s limitations, as it relied on recording only a single 24-hour window, without accounting for other factors such as sleep patterns and the timing of physical activity, necessitating further research before considering meal timing an independent critical factor separate from the quality of the diet consumed.
