Study of 31,044 Adults Links First Meal After Noon to 29% Higher Death Risk

2 articles · Updated · ScienceAlert · Aug 20

31,044 US adults tracked for a median 8.6 years showed mortality risk rose as the first daily calorie intake moved later, with first eating after noon tied to 29% higher all-cause death risk versus 7-8 a.m.
Cardiovascular risk climbed similarly: eating first after noon was associated with a 46% higher cardiovascular death risk, and at age 50 that group had an estimated 2.46 years shorter life expectancy.
Last-meal timing showed a U-shaped pattern rather than a simple late-is-worse trend: finishing before 7 p.m. was linked to 13% higher all-cause mortality, while eating after midnight was linked to 27% higher risk; the lowest modeled risk was around 8 p.m.
Researchers said the eating window alone showed no consistent mortality link once first-meal timing was considered, suggesting fasting duration may matter less than when eating begins.
The observational study, published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, adjusted for major health and lifestyle factors but cannot prove causation because meal timing came largely from a single 24-hour recall and may reflect illness, shift work or socioeconomic conditions.