The breakfast mistake you shouldn’t make after age 40 - it can raise your risk of death by up to 29%

Key Points:

• A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition involving over 31,000 adults aged 40 and older found that eating the first meal of the day later, especially after noon, is associated with a 29% increased risk of early death from any cause.
• Eating breakfast between 8 and 10 a.m. was linked to a 10% higher risk of early death compared to eating between 7 and 8 a.m., with the risk rising to 19% for those eating between 10 a.m. and noon.
• The risk of cardiovascular death increased by 46% for those who ate their first meal after noon compared to those who ate between 7 and 8 a.m., and people over 50 who ate later had a shorter life expectancy by nearly 2.5 years on average.
• While the study shows an association rather than causation, it adds to evidence that the timing of meals may impact health, with other research linking later breakfast times to depression, fatigue, oral health issues, and disruptions in biological rhythms.
• Limitations of the study include reliance on a single 24-hour eating record and lack of data on sleep patterns and activity timing, suggesting that later eating should be viewed as a potential risk marker rather than a definitive cause of early mortality.