We’ve long been told that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” but new research suggests that when you eat it may matter just as much as what you eat — particularly as we get older.
A study led by researchers at Mass General Brigham has found that the timing of your meals, especially breakfast, could play a crucial role in supporting long-term health and longevity.
“Our research suggests that changes in when older adults eat, especially the timing of breakfast, could serve as an easy-to-monitor marker of their overall health status,” said lead author Hassan Dashti, PhD, RD, a nutrition scientist and circadian biologist at Massachusetts General Hospital.
“Patients and clinicians can possibly use shifts in mealtime routines as an early warning sign to look into underlying physical and mental health issues.
“Also, encouraging older adults in having consistent meal schedules could become part of broader strategies to promoting healthy aging and longevity.”
The research followed nearly 3,000 adults in the UK, aged 42 to 94, over a period of more than 20 years. The team examined how meal timing tends to shift with age — and how these changes might influence health outcomes later in life.
The findings revealed two key trends:
As people age, they tend to eat breakfast and dinner later.
They also narrow the overall time window in which they eat each day.
But the most striking discovery was this: older adults who consistently ate breakfast later were more likely to experience poorer health outcomes and had a higher risk of dying earlier.
Delayed breakfast was linked to:
Increased rates of depression and fatigue.
Sleep difficulties and disrupted rest patterns.
Greater challenges with meal preparation.
Oral health problems.
“Up until now, we had a limited insight into how the timing of meals evolves later in life and how this shift relates to overall health and longevity,” Dashti said.
“Our findings help fill that gap by showing that later meal timing, especially delayed breakfast, is tied to both health challenges and increased mortality risk in older adults. These results add new meaning to the saying that ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day,’ especially for older individuals.”
While the study doesn’t prescribe a single ideal breakfast time, it does suggest that regularly delaying your first meal of the day could negatively impact your health over time.
Eating breakfast earlier and sticking to consistent mealtimes may be a simple, proactive way to support your health, protect your energy, and potentially improve longevity.
IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is of a general nature and FYI only, because it doesn’t take into account your personal health requirements or existing medical conditions. That means it’s not personalised health advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a health-related decision, you should work out if the info is appropriate for your situation and get professional medical advice.