BARCELONA, Spain — There’s an old saying that the early bird gets the worm, but new research out of Spain suggests early risers may also avoid Type 2 diabetes. Researchers at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health report eating breakfast after 9 a.m. increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 59 percent in comparison to others eating breakfast before 8 a.m.
These findings, coming from an analysis of over 100,000 participants in a French study group, suggest that we can indeed alter our individual risk of diabetes not only by changing what we eat, but also when we eat it. Type 2 diabetes is already linked to a number of modifiable risk factors including an unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and smoking.
“We know that meal timing plays a key role in regulating circadian rhythms and glucose and lipid control, but few studies have investigated the relationship between meal timing or fasting and Type 2 diabetes,” says Anna Palomar-Cros, an ISGlobal researcher and first author of the study, in a media release.
More specifically, the research team collaborated with scientists from INSERM in France to investigate the association between meal frequency and timing and Type 2 diabetes incidence among 103,312 adults (79% women) from the French NutriNet-Santé cohort. Participants completed online dietary records covering what they ate and drank over a 24-hour period on three non-consecutive days — as well as the timing of those meals. Study authors averaged the dietary records for the first two years of follow-up, then assessed each person’s health over the following years (average of 7 years).
In all, 963 new cases of Type 2 diabetes were diagnosed during this project. The observed risk of developing Type 2 diabetes appeared significantly higher among those regularly eating breakfast after 9 a.m.
“Biologically, this makes sense, as skipping breakfast is known to affect glucose and lipid control, as well as insulin levels,” Palomar-Cros explains. “This is consistent with two meta-analyses that conclude that skipping breakfast increases the risk of Type 2 diabetes.”
What about other meals?
Researchers also note that having a late dinner (after 10 p.m.) appears to increase diabetes risk. On the other hand, eating more frequently (roughly 5 times daily) has an association with a lower disease incidence. Conversely, prolonged fasting was only beneficial if that diet included having an early breakfast (before 8 a.m.) and an early dinner.
“Our results suggest that a first meal before 8 am and a last meal before 7 pm may help reduce the incidence of Type 2 diabetes,” concludes Manolis Kogevinas, an ISGlobal researcher and co-author of the study.
The very same ISGlobal team previously provided compelling evidence regarding the association between an early dinner and a lower risk of breast or prostate cancer. In conclusion, study authors believe these results consolidate the use of chrononutrition (i.e. the association between diet, circadian rhythms, and health) as a way to prevent Type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases.
The study is published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.
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