Fasting and skipping meals are often touted as having health benefits, but according to a new study, these behaviors significantly increase the risk of premature death.
One study found a statistically significant association between skipping meals and a higher risk of premature death. In other words, those who skip one or two of the three main meals a day, i.e. breakfast, lunch and dinner, would be more likely to die prematurely. Even those who consume them in too short a period of time have a higher risk than those who consume all three. The survey results contrast with the purported benefits that we often hear regarding in relation to intermittent fasting and the like. However, it should be emphasized that this was a simple observational/association study, without assessing cause-effect relationships between meal skipping and premature death. Nevertheless, the statistical association found is so significant that the study authors recommend further study.
Skipping meals may increase the risk of premature death has been determined by an international research team led by American scientists from the University of Iowa College of Public Health and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, who worked closely with colleagues from Tongji Huazhong Medical College. University of Technological Sciences (China) and Wuhan University School of Public Health. The scientists, coordinated by Professor Wei Bao, a professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Riverside University, reached their conclusions following analyzing data from more than 24,000 people aged 40 or over, all participating in the National Health Study and Nutritional Testing Survey 1999-2014. .
The researchers, following analyzing the eating behaviors of the participants, cross-referenced this data with public death registers up to December 31, 2015, highlighting the association between skipping meals and mortality from all causes and diseases. cardiovascular. A total of 4,175 deaths occurred during the follow-up period, of which 878 were due to cardiovascular causes such as myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, stroke, etc. Statistical analysis showed that, compared to those who ate all three main meals of the day, for those who ate only one, the mortality risk was 1.30 (95% CI 1 .03 to 1.64) higher for all-cause mortality or 1.83 (95% CI 1.26 to 2.65) higher than for cardiovascular disease mortality. Those who skipped breakfast had a 1.40 (95% CI, 1.09 to 1.78) higher risk of cardiovascular death than those who did not. Those who skipped breakfast had a risk of premature death from all causes of 1.12 (95% CI, 1.01 to 1.24), while it was 1.16 (95% CI, 1 .02 to 1.24)32 for those who skipped dinner, once more compared to those who ate three meals a day. Those who ate three times a day but did so with hourly intervals of less than 4.5 hours (between two adjacent meals) also had a higher risk of premature death.
“At a time when intermittent fasting is widely touted as a solution for weight loss, metabolic health, and disease prevention, our study is important for the large portion of American adults who eat fewer than three meals a day. Our research has found that people who eat only one meal a day are more likely to die than those who eat multiple meals a day. Among them, participants who skip breakfast are more likely to develop fatal cardiovascular disease, while those who skip lunch or dinner increase their risk of death from all causes,” said senior author Professor Yangbo Sun. in a main study press release.
Interestingly, the association between premature death and meal skipping remained significant “even following adjustments for dietary and lifestyle factors (smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity levels, energy intake, and quality food) and food insecurity”, as Professor Bao points out. Those most likely to skip meals were men, non-Hispanic blacks, young people, and those with less education. Further in-depth studies are needed to determine a causal relationship between skipping meals and the risk of premature death. Details of the research “Meal skipping and shorter meal intervals are associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease in American adults” have been published in the scientific journal Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
