The timing of meals appears to be crucial beyond just the nutritional content of a diet, as indicated by the findings of a significant prospective study. Later first and last meals of the day are linked to an elevated risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), particularly among women. Anna Palomar-Cros and colleagues from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health and the Department of Experimental and Health Sciences at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain, conducted this extensive study, which was published online on December 14, 2023, in Nature Communications.

The study encompassed 103,389 participants, with an average baseline age of 42.6 years and 79% being women. These individuals volunteered for the NutriNet-Santé cohort study in France, designed to enhance our understanding of the correlation between nutrition and health.

The results revealed that each additional hour of delaying the first meal of the day correlated with a heightened risk of overall CVD (hazard ratio [HR], 1.06; 95% CI, 1.01-1.12; P = .02), with this association being more pronounced in women than in men. Similarly, each additional hour of delaying the last meal was linked to an increased risk of cerebrovascular disease, with a last meal after 9 pm associated with a 28% higher risk compared to a meal before 8 pm (HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.05-1.55; P < .01).

Interestingly, no associations were found between the number of eating occasions and overall CVD or cerebrovascular disease. Furthermore, there were no correlations between meal timing or the number of eating occasions and the risk of coronary heart disease.

A noteworthy discovery was that each hour increase in nighttime fasting was associated with a 7% lower risk of cerebrovascular disease (HR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.87-0.99; P = .02), although there was no significant impact on the risk of overall CVD or coronary heart disease.

In light of these findings, the study suggests a potential benefit in adopting earlier eating patterns and combining a longer nighttime fasting period with an early last meal for the prevention of CVD, rather than skipping breakfast.

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