- Past studies show that certain healthy lifestyle habits, such as eating a nutritional diet, can help people live longer and healthier.
- A new study found the time of day people eat their meals — especially breakfast — may also affect longevity.
- Eating breakfast later in the day, for example, was linked to depression and oral health issues.
Everyone wants to live longer, and thanks to increased life expectancy with medical advancements, people are living longer than ever.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a person’s
“As people live longer with advancements in medicine, maintaining quality of life becomes increasingly important,” Hassan Dashti, PhD, RD, clinical nutrition scientist and circadian biologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, told Medical News Today. “Older adults face higher risks of chronic illness, functional decline, and reduced independence. Research that identifies non-pharmacologic opportunities to promote healthy aging, such as diet, sleep, and lifestyle, can help reduce disease burden and support healthier, more fulfilling lives in later years.”
Dashti is the lead author of a new study recently published in the journal
“The timing of when we eat, known more commonly now as chrononutrition, has recently been recognized as an important factor that influences metabolism, sleep, and overall health,” Dashti explained. “Most studies, however, have focused on younger adults or night-shift workers. Older adults may be particularly affected by shifts in meal timing because of health challenges and lifestyle transitions.”
“So far, little is known about meal timing in older adults and how changes in meal timing affect long-term health,” he continued. “Our study aimed to address this gap by examining decades of data on meal timing in older adults and its relationship with long-term health.”
At the study’s conclusion, Dashti and his team found that in general, as we age, we tend to eat breakfast and dinner later in the day, which can narrow how much time a person eats during the day.
Researchers discovered that study participants who ate their breakfast later in the day were consistently associated with physical and mental health conditions such as depression, fatigue, and oral health problems.
“In our analysis, we found that a range of illnesses were often linked to eating breakfast later in the day,” Dashti detailed. “Having depression, anxiety, fatigue, or poor oral health may make it harder for older adults to eat earlier, which can shift overall meal timing patterns, and particularly the timing of breakfast. This suggests that later breakfast timing could serve as a marker of underlying health problems, providing doctors and caregivers with a simple, additional signal of declining health over time.”
Additionally, scientists learned that eating breakfast later in the day was also linked to an increased mortality risk.
“The association between shifts toward later breakfast and higher mortality risk indicates that meal timing may reflect more than just personal preference and could be tied to biological aging or health decline,” Dashti said.
“While the effect we found was very modest, it highlights that even small changes in meal timing over the years could provide insight into broader health risks as people age.”
— Hassan Dashti, PhD, RD
“Because our study is observational, the findings need to be confirmed in future experimental research,” he continued. “Next steps for this research include testing whether adjusting meal timing, such as encouraging earlier breakfasts or maintaining consistent meal schedules, can directly improve health and longevity in older adults. Additional randomized trials and studies will be essential to confirm and expand these results.”
MNT had the opportunity to speak with Monique Richard, MS, RDN, LDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of Nutrition-In-Sight, about this study.
Richard commented that the study’s outcome makes logical sense to what she sees in clinical practice and outpatient settings in terms of patterns, natural alterations with age and disease states, and what we know to be true physiologically as we get older.
“Later breakfast timing in older adults is a frequent observation in geriatrics, especially those with current depression, fatigue, oral health complaints, and who may be more isolated or have mobility challenges,” she explained. “Furthermore, this scenario can be a ‘catch 22,’ where eating breakfast later is a risk for many of these factors or exacerbates them due to nutrient depletion, lessened amounts of joy, pleasure, and sensory stimulation.”
“These study results are observational, so not proof of causation, but it fits broader chrononutrition science showing that aligning meals with daytime circadian biology supports metabolic and overall health.”
— Monique Richard, MS, RDN, LDN
“In practice, I educate and encourage strategies around meal timing as a simple, actionable lever to help all individuals — children, teens, athletes, adults, and older adults — meet protein and overall energy and nutrient needs, stabilize energy, and anchor daily routines. Meal timing and meal composition are complementary partners in our journey toward health and overall well-being,” Richard added.
Richard said that delaying the first meal of the day makes it harder to hit total calories, fiber, and evenly distributed protein — key for muscle and mood — before the day “gets away.”
Mental health and later eating times
“In addition, medication effectiveness can be impacted, which may further affect mood, overall health status, and can start to further deplete current nutrient stores (if not already deficient.) Later breakfast often travels with later bed/wake times, irregular meals, less activity, and more snacking — patterns associated with poorer mental health outcomes and higher risk of cognitive deterioration in community-dwelling older adults.”
— Monique Richard, MS, RDN, LDN
Richard encouraged readers to meet with a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) for tailored tips and ideas on how and what they specifically need regarding meal planning and timing.
She also offered these general tips on meal timing, especially for older adults:
- Anchor the Day Early: Aim to eat breakfast within one to two hours of waking, most days. A simple pattern like breakfast: 7–8 a.m., lunch: noon–1 p.m., dinner: 5–7 p.m. works for many families and individuals, allowing for possible snacks as necessary, keeping a consistent window of sleep and fasting open ~10–12 hours, and try to avoid snacking two to three hours before bed.
- Front-Load Protein: Target ~25–30 g protein at breakfast (e.g., Greek yogurt + nuts + berries; eggs + beans + veg; protein-fortified oatmeal). Distributing protein across meals supports muscle function, brain health, satiation, and numerous other functions.
- Maneuver Barriers with Consideration & Care (& Support): Taste or smell changes? Foods with a higher profile in aromatics like herbs may help, adjusting acidity or alkalinity in recipes or adjusting salt, sugar, and fat also address some of these observations. Chewing trouble? Adapting foods to soft textures (i.e. applesauce versus a crunchy whole apple), or smaller, more frequent portions may address.
- Eat Early and Evenly: A protein-strong breakfast, a steady midday meal, and a light, timely dinner, hydration in between, coupled with laughter and loved ones.
