Meal timing influenced the risk of cardiovascular disease

Late breakfast and dinner have been found to be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, especially in women. In addition, late dinner and a shorter duration of nighttime fasting increased the likelihood of stroke and other cerebrovascular diseases.

Researchers from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, the Barcelona Institute for Global Health and the Sorbonne Paris-Nord University studied the relationship between meal timing and the risk of cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular complications. The results of the study are published in the journal Nature Communications.

It was found that eating the first meal later in the day (e.g., skipping breakfast) was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Participants who ate breakfast at 9 a.m. were 6% more likely to develop cardiovascular disease compared to those who ate breakfast at 8 a.m. Each hour of delay in the first meal increased this risk by 6%.

Meanwhile, a later last meal (after 9 pm) increased the risk of stroke by 28% compared with eating before 8 pm. The association was particularly significant among women.

In addition, the researchers found that a longer duration of overnight fasting was associated with a reduced risk of cerebrovascular disease.

They analyzed data from 103,389 adults with an average age of 42 years. All participants kept a 24-hour food diary. Based on the diary entries, the authors evaluated the association between the timing and number of meals and the incidence of cardiovascular disease.