Eating First Meal After Noon Linked to 29% Higher Mortality Risk, Study Finds

Delaying the first meal of the day until after noon could significantly increase the risk of death, a large-scale study suggests. Researchers analyzed dietary records from 31,044 US adults aged 40 and older, finding that those who ate their first meal after 12 p.m. faced a 29% higher risk of all-cause mortality compared to those who ate between 7 and 8 a.m.

The study, led by Shan Zhilei's team at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology's Tongji Medical College in China, was published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It defined the "first meal" as the first intake of calorie-containing food or drink after 4 a.m. The findings indicated a dose-response relationship: eating between 8-10 a.m. raised the risk by 10%, between 10 a.m. and noon by 19%, and after noon by 29%. The risk of death from cardiovascular disease was even higher, increasing by 46% for those eating their first meal after noon. The research estimated that individuals who eat their first meal after noon at age 50 could expect to live 2.46 years less.

The timing of the last meal also showed a U-shaped association with mortality risk. Compared to finishing the last meal between 7-8 p.m., eating before 7 p.m. increased the risk by 13%, while eating after midnight raised it by 27%. The lowest risk was observed for those finishing their last meal around 8 p.m.

While the study highlights a correlation between eating times and mortality, researchers emphasize it is observational and cannot prove causation. "Late eating may interfere with the biological clocks of various organs, thereby affecting glucose and lipid metabolism," stated study author Shan Zhilei. However, they also noted that later eating patterns might be linked to other factors such as shift work, poor sleep, existing health conditions, or socioeconomic status, potentially serving as a "risk marker" for poorer health. The team advises the public not to make drastic changes to their eating habits based solely on this research.