"Healthy eating is still primarily focused around the actual contents of your diet, but with the rise of intermittent fasting, the timing of meals has also come to be a point of significant scrutiny. Unfortunately for those that prefer to eat just one meal a day, or to pack all of their eating into an 8-hour window, research suggests that this might not be the best strategy. In fact, it may even shorten your life."
"A 2025 study published in Communications Medicine followed 3,000 adults in the U.K., analyzing their meal times in an attempt to better understand how these practices changed over time as well as how they related to health and longevity. The results showed that as these individuals aged, their meal times tended to shift later, and that those with more health problems also typically ate later."
"Eating breakfast later in the day, specifically, was linked with depression, fatigue, oral health problems, and even an increased risk of mortality. These are only correlations, of course, but to better understand the importance of meal timing, and particularly what time of day one should eat breakfast, we reached out to Destini Moody, RD, CSSD, LD at Live It Up."
A 2025 study in Communications Medicine tracked 3,000 UK adults and found meal times shifted later with age and poorer health. Later meal timing correlated with greater health problems. Specifically, eating breakfast later was associated with depression, fatigue, oral health problems, and increased mortality risk. These associations were correlational rather than proven causation. Early breakfast helps manage hunger and prevents catabolism, the process of muscle breakdown. Going long periods without eating — roughly 14 hours or more — risks muscle loss and may be inadvisable for many. Meal timing should be considered alongside diet composition when aiming for better health and longevity.
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