Eating earlier—both breakfast and dinner—might be a key to maintaining a healthy weight.
A five-year study of over 7,000 middle-aged participants found that those who had a longer overnight fast and started their day with an early breakfast generally had lower BMIs.
Timing Matters More Than You Think
Keeping your weight in check isn’t just about what you eat—it may also be about when you eat. A research study suggests that two daily habits are linked to a healthier body weight over time: eating breakfast early and extending your overnight fast. These findings come from research published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), with support from the “la Caixa” Foundation.
The study tracked more than 7,000 adults between the ages of 40 and 65, all part of the GCAT | Genomes for Life project. Back in 2018, participants answered detailed questions about their diet, lifestyle, meal times, and body measurements. Five years later, over 3,000 of them returned for a follow-up to provide updated health information and measurements.
Early Meals Align With Body Clocks
“Our results, in line with other recent studies, suggest that extending the overnight fast could help maintain a healthy weight if accompanied by an early dinner and an early breakfast. We think this may be because eating earlier in the day is more in line with circadian rhythms and allows for better calorie burning and appetite regulation, which can help maintain a healthy weight. However, it is too soon to draw definitive conclusions, so recommendations will have to wait for more robust evidence,” explains Luciana Pons-Muzzo, researcher at ISGlobal at the time of the study and currently at IESE Business School.
When the researchers looked at the data by gender, they found notable differences. On average, women had lower BMIs than men and were more likely to follow the Mediterranean diet. They also tended to drink less alcohol and take on more household or caregiving responsibilities. However, women also reported poorer mental health overall.
Late Eaters and Intermittent Fasting Red Flags
The team used a statistical technique called ‘cluster analysis‘ to group individuals with similar characteristics. From the results of this analysis, the authors were struck by a small group of men whose first meal of the day was after 14:00 and who, on average, fasted for 17 hours. Compared to the rest, this group of men tended to have less healthy lifestyles (more likely to smoke, drink alcohol, less physical activity, less adherence to the Mediterranean diet), and had lower levels of educational attainment and were more likely to be unemployed. These patterns were not observed in any group of women.
Skipping Breakfast? Not So Effective
“There are different ways of practicing what is known as ‘intermittent fasting’ and our study relates to one of them, which is overnight fasting. What we observed in a subgroup of men who do intermittent fasting by skipping breakfast is that this practice has no effect on body weight. Other intervention studies in participants with obesity have shown that this tactic is no more effective than reducing calorie intake in reducing body weight in the long term,” says Camille Lassale, ISGlobal researcher and senior co-author of the study.
Chrononutrition: A New Frontier
“Our research is part of an emerging field of research known as ‘chrononutrition’, which focuses not only on analyzing what we eat, but also the times of day and the number of times we eat,” says Anna Palomar-Cros, researcher at ISGlobal at the time of the study and currently at IDIAP Jordi Gol. “At the basis of this research is the knowledge that unusual food intake patterns can conflict with the circadian system, the set of internal clocks that regulate the cycles of night and day and the physiological processes that must accompany them,” she adds.
Broader Health Benefits of Early Eating
This study provides continuity to a line of ISGlobal research on chrononutrition, which in recent years has published two other studies with results in the same direction. In these studies, it was observed that eating dinner and breakfast early was associated, respectively, with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
Reference: “Sex-specific chrono-nutritional patterns and association with body weight in a general population in Spain (GCAT study)” by Luciana Pons-Muzzo, Rafael de Cid, Mireia Obón-Santacana, Kurt Straif, Kyriaki Papantoniou, Isabel Santonja, Manolis Kogevinas, Anna Palomar-Cros and Camille Lassale, 12 September 2024, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.
DOI: 10.1186/s12966-024-01639-x
A version of this article was originally published in October 2024.
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56 Comments
thank you for this
Yes, because you’re also supposed to eat an early dinner. They only mention that once I think. Mostly, they talk about an early breakfast. Maybe that what you found confusing and someone else baffling.
All I know is at 65 I gained some weight while laid off and have been having a heck of a time losing it. I know enough to know that every time you gain and want to lose excess weight you have to find another way as our bodies change through the years. But nothing was working until I read another article that basically said the same thing and I started losing weight again! Since February I’ve been getting up at 6/6:30am (for reasons unrelated to weight) but eating a bigger breakfast also not just earlier. I used to bulk up on fruit before my dinner but now I bulk up on fruit before breakfast and eat things I normally wouldn’t have for breakfast for fear of gaining weight. It just makes sense. If you “eat like a king” for breakfast, you will have the whole day to burn it off.
At the same time, I used to wonder why when I’m travel to Europe and eat like a king at a 9 pm dinner every night, I never gained an ounce. But life in Europe is very different. Walking is not something they have to set aside a certain time of the day to do. It’s just part of their every day life, much like people who live in NYC. But also European diets are cleaner and freer or preservatives and chemicals, all nasty things that the body simply does not know how to process.
Anyway, I hope this helps.
Eat an early breakfast, but have a long nightly fast???
I don’t eat breakfast. I run and walk early in morning. I eat at 12 everyday. Nothing past 6 am. I drink only water. I also walk and run in the evening.
but 12 is past 6am. do you mean 6pm? so breakfast is really brunch and then dinner finished by 6?
Hi,
So when will be the best times to eat? I been doing the 8 hour window for fasting so I eat starting at 1pm-9pm sometimes I do 12pm to 8pm…
I think you meant nothing passed 6 pm?
are you deficient mentally? Eat breakfast, then eat something around 4pm, then dont eat again until 8am. 16 hour fast and you slept through most of it.
why nothing between 8 &4 ?
My problem with that is your body doesn’t burn much calories in its sleep, so if your sleeping during your fast your not losing as much weight. yes, you are losing weight just not as much. The key to losing weight isn’t just one thing, it’s a mix of things that are specific to your body type
Yes. Because you are also supposed to have an early dinner. I think they only mention that once. Should be mentioned again. They mostly talk about breakfast.
Please see my comment above.
How can you extend your overnight fast AND ear an early breakfast? I’m baffled by this.
I guess you go to bed at 4 in the afternoon and eat breakfast at 5am or something?
JFC
eat an earlier dinner and nothing after dinner until breakfast
Eat 6 am 10 or 11 lunch 4 pm dinner repeat lost 30 lbs 3 years ago kept it off exercise elliptical 40 mins 5days a week
My father taught me this,of you eat your meals earlier you stand a better chance of digesting the food and burning calories before you go to sleep.
It works – breakfast at 7:00 (or 8:00), dinner at 3:00 = 16 to 17 hr fast overnight. No snacks, just water during fast period.
I don’t think so, who wants to eat dinner aka supper at 3 PM and then starve
all night…no thanks.
Dinner at 3 and bed at 4? Are you fkn 90?
Just because one is skinny and hungry that doesn’t mean that there happy and healthy. Just say you’re grace and enjoy youre meal! No shame Eating. And no eating when you should be sleeping.
Eat dinner a little later say 4 or 5
I with Jane. No thanks.
I eat breakfast at 7 am dinner at 2:00 pm nothing but water until bed. Your body gets used to to this and you feel so much better. Been doing this for about 6 yrs.
Dinner no later 7 maybe even 6. Then no snacks. That easily leads to a 10-12 hour fast. No where did I see that the fast should be 17 hours. That was associated with unhealthy men.
I wasn’t far off. I ate 9 meals a week- dinner weekly, breakfast on Wednesday and Sunday (with a snack on either or both days if I wanted)-, exercised Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday and drank a lot of water throughout the week and in about 15 months I went from 234lbs to 127 lbs. Had to regain a little… being that small was uncomfortable. Anything can “work” if you give it enough of a chance.
I am amazed at the chronological element for our daily meals.
I would like to see the results and effects on night shift workers.
I don’t own any scales, I love good (reasonably healthy) food, and I generally eat dinner between 8 and 10 pm., shortly before bed. So, about 5 years ago, I decided to eat healthier– not trying to lose weight, just my usual largely vegetarian diet. Five years later, with no “weight loss agenda”, I realized most of my jeans were getting too big and needed to be replaced (living in the country, and don’t shop much any more). To my surprise, I had gone from size 14- 16 down to 10. Trend has continued, and I just moved down to size 8.
How did this happen? 2 simple changes: I ELIMINATED FAST FOOD AND POTATO CHIPS/FRIED SNACKS from my diet (with occasional slip-ups, especially at first.) Still eat occasional snacks, fairly large meals, and lots of cheese and fried (pan fried, not deep fried) foods. AND LOTS OF VEGGIES. Elimination of EVIL TRANS FAT also resulted in tremendous reduction in facial zits. I get a decent amount of exercise from house work, yard work and dog walking, but definitely not a “fitness freak”! Still eat a late dinner, shortly before retiring, and have always eaten very small breakfast.
Yeah, I don’t agree with this. Intermittent fasting works. It uses stored fat instead of stored insulin from what you ate, that is, breakfast Eating breakfast interferes in your ability to burn fat because your body is now having to burn what you ate rather than burn fat. An empty insulin store is the best way to burn fat.
I lost 80 pounds in one year by waking up and drinking coffee just one cup with cream and sugar (80 calories).
Drinking water all day only.,.
Eating a 600 (max.) calorie salad every night for dinner at 8pm.
After my 600 cal salad I don’t eat again until the following night at 8pm
I do this Monday through Friday and on Saturday and Sunday I eat what I want.
My body is used to it. I have a lot of energy and I’m down to a size 4 from a size 14.
That’s amazing , Fasting is the best way! I’m down 2 and I just started this same regimen. I alternate coffee with green tea and honey..
BMI is the most inaccurate way to determine a person’s health. It only factors in height and weight. It does NOT account for body composition. A person can have a low body fat percentage but still fall into the obese category because they are 25% fat but 75% muscle. A person can also be considered “normal” but they’re 75% fat and 25% muscle. Muscle tissue is much more dense than fat cells, which is why a person who is lean and muscular will weigh more according to the scale.
The easiest way to “lose weight” is to eat better quality food and eat less than you burn to create a calorie deficit. If you’re eating 4,000 calories a day in junk food and only burning 1,200 calories guess what…you’re going to gain weight. There’s no “magic solution.” Exercise and eat better food.
Exactly. Well said.
All this pseudo science!!! And ignorance! 🙄
That’s hard to do at my age I’m 72 yrs and I eat breakfast no lunch and dinner after that I’m done for the night till morning . How bad is this and I ride stationary bike
Hi I am 73 and it just gets harder not to snack at night. I have been eating a yogurt. It seems we are similar.
NOT ENOUGH FOOD!
Oh my God. God bless you, but you are not eating at all! No joke, you are losing weight! Coffee and then salad?? No thank you! Where are you getting your protein? Calcium? Vitamins?? You may be down to a size 4 from 14 and say your body is used to it and that you have a lot of energy. But there is no way, you are healthy. If you haven’t suffered the consequences yet, at some point I’m pretty sure you will.
In the end, though, everyone has to figure it out for themselves! In diet, as in everything.
A good method that works all the time for me is to eat between 9 – 10 am breakfast, 12 – 1pm lunch. 3 – 4pm dinner.
What you eat is important as well. For me it’s fruits, nuts for breakfast with herbal teas. Porridge/cereals but must have a good amount of plant based protein.
Lunch: yam/ boiled green bananas/ sweet potatoes/ wraps with beans( black beans/ lentils/chick peas)
Dinner: fish with vegetables/soups
Note: it’s important that you are full at each feeding time to avoid snacking in between.
Live a very active life.
What do you eat for breakfast, lunch , dinner
Well our bodies need at least 5 hours between meals without food, only water. Let the stomach rest and don’t make the food rot. It is very unhealthy to eat too close together.
I’m awake by 6am most mornings but never hungry until 10am. It’s not good to eat until your body says it’s hungry. So I wait until I feel a little hunger, then eat,.scrambled eggs w/veg. Light lunch most would call a snack, handful of nuts and half apple. Dinner is larger meal and happens when I feel hungry. If I am doing a lot of heavy digging in garden I feel more hungry, so I will snack. If I don’t feel the hunger I don’t eat. No or very low added sugars, no breads or rice. Still can’t lose weight. Was a fat as an infant and can’t lose weight my entire life I have been fat. But at least I’m active and not gaining more.
What life stage are you in? Apparently, fasting only works for weightloss for men, younger women and postmenopausal women. If you are a woman in your mid-30’s to late 40’s, fasting may not work for you.
We should eat breakfast like a queen, lunch like a princess and supper like a pauper. 2 meals a day would be better than 3.
In other words, eat dinner as early as possible.
I exercise in the morning then drink protein, then eat lunch around 12:30 and dinner around 6:00 or later. Then I wake up in the middle of the night sometimes hungry and I eat again if I want. I like beef and chicken and cheese and bread. No guilt here sorry
I compare the average human body of today to photos of the past before the ability to process food. The people are all slender. The processing of wheat to only white flour, the abundance of sugars in all foods, the dependence on cheap store bought ready- made foods, chemicals added to growing plants and preserving foods is the reason for obesity. Why do we need the magic pill, weight loss secrets and expensive “studies”? There is always some article claiming to have found the “ fountain of slenderness”. No wonder the diet industry is a multi dollar Business! We all fall for it. We want what is easy, fast and quick. We want our cake with lots of frosting with the ability to wash it all down with a soda. Sensible eating, less processed foods and just plain common sense in a world that has lost its mind would go a long way to solving obesity.
👍
Breakfast at 7am. Lunch 12 noon, dinner at 5. Lunch should be light, an apple or cottage cheese.
I could not focus after a light lunch and would prefer a light dinner. My work involves too much mental energy.
What bull. “Maybe”, “too soon to draw conclusions”, “perhaps”–yada, yada, yada. I don’tbelieve any of these supposed “scientific” articles. Proper diet, and exercise always ends up being the answer.
To lose weight: watch your meals …. Instead of eating them
Hopeless
Hopeless rant