WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A large study of adults in the U.S. suggests that when you eat your first and last calories of the day may be linked to how long you live.
For the study, researchers looked at health and diet information from 31,044 adults aged 40 and older, collected between 1999 and 2018. Participants reported everything they had eaten and drunk in the previous 24 hours, along with the time they consumed it.
The researchers then compared this information with death records, and they found that over an average follow-up period of 8.6 years, 7,129 people died, including 2,259 from heart-related diseases.
Published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the study found that eating the first meal later in the day was linked to a higher risk of death. Compared with people who first ate between 7 and 8 am, those who ate for the first time between 8 and 10 am had a 10% higher risk of death. The risk was 19% higher for those who first ate between 10 am and noon and 29% higher for those who ate after noon.
Heart-related deaths showed a similar pattern. People who had their first calories after noon had a 46% higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared with those who ate between 7 and 8 am.
Meanwhile, the timing of the last meal showed a different pattern. The risk was lowest for people who finished eating at around 8 pm. Eating before 7 pm was linked to a 13% higher risk of death, while eating after midnight was linked to a 27% higher risk.
Researchers explained that very late eating could affect the body's internal clock and metabolism. However, eating very early could also be linked to other health problems or lower food intake.
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