Scientists say there's new research backing the old adage that breakfast really is the "most important meal of the day." (© DC Studio - stock.adobe.com)
Long-term research suggests that meal timing could be an important aging health marker.
In A Nutshell
- Tracking nearly 3,000 older adults over 20 years, researchers found that each hour of later breakfast was tied to an 8–11% higher risk of death.
- People who generally ate earlier in the day had a 10-year survival rate of 89.5%, compared to 86.7% for late eaters.
- Fatigue, depression, anxiety, and multimorbidity were linked to later breakfasts, while oral-health issues were tied to earlier dinners and shorter eating windows.
- Findings suggest that shifting meal times may reflect health changes with aging, though the study cannot prove causation.
BOSTON — Scientists have discovered a connection between breakfast timing and survival rates in older adults. A 20-year study tracking nearly 3,000 people found that each additional hour of delayed breakfast timing was associated with an 8–11% higher risk of death, depending on statistical adjustment. Separately, the research identified distinct meal timing patterns, with people classified into “early-eating” groups having a 10-year survival rate of 89.5% compared to 86.7% for “late-eating” groups.
Published in Communications Medicine, the study followed participants from the University of Manchester Longitudinal Study of Cognition in Normal Healthy Old Age, beginning in 1983. At the study’s start, participants averaged 64 years old, with 71.5% being female and 83.3% being unemployed. They typically ate breakfast at 8:22 AM, lunch at 12:38 PM, and dinner at 5:51 PM.
Over 22 years of follow-up, researchers documented 2,361 deaths among participants using England’s National Health Service death records. The data revealed that meal timing shifts appeared tied to declining health and changes in daily routines that naturally occur with aging.
Health Problems Associated with Later Breakfast Times
The research showed that people experiencing health issues consistently ate breakfast later. Those dealing with fatigue, depression, anxiety, and multiple medical conditions were more likely to delay their morning meal. Interestingly, people with oral health problems tended to eat dinner earlier. The study used a medical index covering 19 different health areas to track these connections.
Sleep quality also played a role. People with poor sleep ate breakfast later and had shorter daily eating windows. Additionally, those who struggled with meal preparation showed similar patterns of delayed breakfast timing.
Genetics influenced eating schedules as well. People with genetic tendencies toward being night owls naturally ate meals later throughout the day. Each step higher on a genetic score for “evening type” behavior pushed breakfast timing back by about seven minutes. However, genes linked to obesity didn’t affect meal timing in this older population.
How Meal Timing Affects the Body’s Internal Clock
Meal timing matters because eating acts as a signal to the body’s internal biological clock, which controls metabolism and other vital functions. When people eat at irregular times or shift their eating later, it may disrupt these natural rhythms.
Previous research has shown that eating during typical sleep hours can harm blood sugar control and promote weight gain. The current study extends these concerns to older adults, showing that even modest shifts in meal timing may have long-term health consequences.
As participants aged, they not only ate breakfast and dinner later but also reduced the time between dinner and bedtime. On average, people ate dinner about 5.4 hours before going to bed, but this gap shortened with age.
What These Findings Mean for Healthy Aging
The research identified people as falling into either “early-eating” or “late-eating” groups, suggesting some older adults may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of delayed meal timing. However, the study had several limitations that affect how broadly the results apply.
Participants were primarily healthy, community-dwelling older adults of British European ancestry. The research relied on people reporting their own meal times, which may not capture day-to-day variations. Most importantly, the study couldn’t determine whether later meal timing directly causes increased death risk or simply reflects underlying health problems.
The authors concluded that “meal timing, particularly later breakfast, shifts with age and may reflect broader health changes in older adults, with implications for morbidity and longevity.”
The effect sizes were modest, with participants’ breakfast timing shifting by about 45 minutes across the full age range studied. This suggests meal timing is one factor among many that influence longevity, rather than a dominant predictor of lifespan.
For aging adults and their families, changes in meal timing patterns might serve as an early indicator of declining health worth discussing with healthcare providers. The research suggests that maintaining structured daily routines, including consistent meal times, may support healthy aging alongside proper medical care and good nutrition.
Disclaimer: This article is based on findings from peer-reviewed research. The study is observational and cannot prove cause-and-effect. The content is provided for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as medical advice. Readers should consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to their diet, lifestyle, or healthcare routine.
Paper Summary
Methodology
Researchers analyzed data from 2,945 community-dwelling older adults participating in the University of Manchester Longitudinal Study of Cognition in Normal Healthy Old Age, which began in 1983. Participants completed questionnaires about meal timing, sleep habits, health status, and lifestyle factors up to five times over the study period ending in 2017. The team used statistical models to track changes in meal timing with age, identified distinct eating pattern groups, and examined relationships between meal timing and mortality. A subset of 1,226 participants also provided blood samples for genetic analysis to examine how genetic predispositions toward evening chronotype and obesity influenced eating patterns.
Results
As participants aged, they ate breakfast and dinner progressively later, had a later eating midpoint, and shortened their daily eating window. Fatigue, depression, anxiety, and multiple health conditions were primarily associated with later breakfast timing. Oral health problems, however, were linked to earlier dinner and shorter eating windows. Genetic profiles related to evening chronotype, but not obesity, were linked to later meals. Most importantly, later breakfast timing was associated with increased mortality risk, with each additional hour of delay linked to an 8–11% increase in death risk. The study identified two distinct groups: an early-eating group with 89.5% 10-year survival and a late-eating group with 86.7% 10-year survival.
Limitations
The study was limited to primarily healthy, community-dwelling older adults of British European ancestry, which may restrict generalizability to other populations. The research relied on self-reported meal times rather than objective measurements, and most participants completed only two assessments due to the aging nature of the cohort. The study couldn’t establish whether later meal timing directly causes mortality risk or simply reflects underlying health problems. Additionally, the research didn’t capture information about meal frequency, timing variability, or snacking patterns outside traditional meals.
Funding and Disclosures
This work was supported by the National Institute of Health (grant number R00HL153795 to H.S.D.). The authors declared no competing interests. Mortality data were obtained from the England NHS Digital death registry through NHS England’s Secure Data Environment service.
Publication Information
Dashti, H.S., Liu, C., Deng, H., Sharma, A., Payton, A., Maharani, A., & Didikoglu, A. “Meal timing trajectories in older adults and their associations with health outcomes, genetic profiles, and mortality,” published in Communications Medicine (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s43856-025-01035-x
