Researchers studying more than 31,000 U.S. adults found that the timing of the first and last meals of the day was linked to differences in mortality risk and life expectancy. In general, people who started eating later in the day faced higher risks of death from any cause and cardiovascular disease, while certain dinner times were associated with lower risks than others. The findings, published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, add to a growing area of research examining how eating patterns align with the body's natural daily rhythms.
The clearest signal came from the first meal of the day. Compared with adults who ate between 7 and 8 a.m., mortality risk rose steadily as breakfast was pushed later into the morning and afternoon. The highest risks were seen among people who did not eat until after noon.
In that group, deaths from any cause were 29 percent higher, while deaths from cardiovascular disease were 43 percent higher than among those who ate earlier. The effect was not limited to people who skipped breakfast altogether. Even participants whose first meal fell between 10 a.m. and noon experienced poorer outcomes, including a 19 percent increase in all-cause mortality and a 59 percent increase in stroke-related deaths compared with those who ate between 7 and 8 a.m.
But morning eating habits told only part of the story. The timing of the final meal also appeared to matter, and the results challenged the notion that earlier is always better. Researchers found the lowest mortality risk among people whose last meal was eaten between 7 and 8 p.m., making it the most favorable dining window identified in the study.
By contrast, people who finished eating before 7 p.m. had a 13 percent higher risk of death from any cause. The worst outcomes were linked to eating after midnight. Compared with participants whose final meal fell between 7 and 8 p.m., those who ate after midnight had a 27 percent higher risk of death from any cause and a 51 percent higher risk of death from heart disease.
Those differences were not only reflected in mortality rates. They also appeared in estimates of how long people might live. Among adults aged 50 and older, eating the first meal between 8 and 10 a.m. was associated with roughly 0.9 fewer years of life expectancy.
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