The timing of breakfast for older people may be linked to premature death
Meals are fundamental to people's health and happiness, and
Meal timing trajectories in older adults and their associations with morbidity, genetic profiles, and mortality | Communications Medicine
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43856-025-01035-x
Meal Timing in Later Life May Matter for Health and Longevity | Mass General Brigham
https://www.massgeneralbrigham.org/en/about/newsroom/press-releases/meal-timing-in-older-adults-health-and-longevity
The Time of Day You Eat in Later Life Could Foreshadow an Early Death : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/the-time-of-day-you-eat-in-later-life-could-foreshadow-an-early-death
A research team from Massachusetts General Hospital's Brigham Medical Center and other institutions collected and analyzed data from 2,945 people who lived in Newcastle and Manchester, England, between 1983 and 2017. The subjects were aged between 42 and 94 at the time of participation in the study and completed questionnaires about their health, lifestyle, and diet.
Analysis of the data showed that, overall, with age, people tended to eat breakfast and dinner later and to eat within a narrower window of time each day, and that later meal times were associated with poorer physical and mental health.
The study also found a significant association between delayed breakfast time and an increased risk of all-cause mortality: for every hour participants delayed breakfast, their mortality rate increased by 8-11% over the study period.
'Our findings suggest that changes in meal times, particularly breakfast timing, among older adults may be an easy way to monitor their overall health,' said nutritionist Hassan Dashti, lead author of the paper.
It's important to note that the research team isn't saying that eating breakfast later leads to earlier death, or that eating breakfast earlier leads to longer life. In fact, the research team doesn't think that eating breakfast later leads to earlier death, but rather that 'as people age and their health declines, they eat breakfast later.'
For example, poor health can lead to sleep deprivation or sleep disorders, making it difficult to wake up early in the morning, which can result in a delayed start to breakfast. Deteriorating health can also make daily activities and household chores more difficult, which can lead to a delayed start to breakfast.
'These findings could help identify older adults at higher risk for health problems through dietary monitoring and understand the different effects of dietary changes on younger and older adults. 'Changes in mealtimes can be seen as early warning signs for patients and healthcare professionals, and can be used to investigate potential physical and mental health issues,' said Dashti.
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