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Written by | Song Wenfa

Aging is a complex, multi-stage, gradual process that occurs throughout life. As time goes by, the body's organs and muscles will gradually age, and some diseases also occur with age, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc.

In recent years, with theChrononutritionWith the rise of the field, people are paying more and more attention to eating time, which includes three dimensions: time, frequency and regularity. More and more studies have shown that calorie restriction and fasting are beneficial for prolonging life, however, it is still unclear how the time and frequency of eating affect aging.

recently,Huazhong University of Science and Technologyof researchers in " Food & Function "The journal published an article entitled"Association of chrononutrition patterns with biological aging：evidence from a nationally representative cross-sectional study "Research paper.

research shows,Delayed first eating was associated with accelerated aging, with a greater biological age and a higher incidence of accelerated aging. In addition, higher eating frequency was associated with delayed biological aging, and inflammation partially mediated the negative association between eating frequency and biological aging.。

This suggests that changing the timing of eating could be a practical and effective anti-aging strategy.

In this study, researchers analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.（NHANES）The cohort included 16,531 participants with an average age of 46.5 years. The participants' temporal nutritional patterns were collected through questionnaires, and their phenotypic age was calculated using the dietary inflammation index.（DII）Dietary inflammation was assessed, and the effects of timing and frequency of eating on aging were analyzed.

Overall, among all the participants, 5447 were phenotypically older and 11084 were phenotypically younger. The average time for the first meal/drink for the phenotypically older participants was 8:13 and the average time for the last meal/drink was 20:06, while for the phenotypically younger participants it was 7:59 and 20:12.

The study found,A later first meal time accelerates biological aging. Compared with a first meal at 6:14, those who eat at 10:26 show a greater biological age and a 25% greater incidence of accelerated aging.。

also,There is a negative correlation between eating frequency and biological aging, and people with higher eating frequency have a 10% lower risk of phenotypic aging。

However, there was no significant correlation between the timing of the last meal, eating window, and biological aging.

The mediation analysis found thatDietary inflammation partially mediates the inverse association between eating frequency and biological aging。

The researchers said,According to the definition of breakfast, it is no later than 10 am. Those who eat more than 10 am are considered to be skippers., the results showed that skipping breakfast or eating it for the first time late can accelerate aging.

forHow skipping breakfast harms health and lifespan, the researchers noted:First, longer fasting periods may lead to a higher intake of energy from sugar, fat, and snacks, which means a lower quality diet.

Secondly, skipping breakfast has been shown to affect endocrine function, including reducing insulin sensitivity and stimulating the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis to secrete more cortisol.

However, the researchers stressed thatThis is an observational study and can only show correlation, not causation.More research is needed to explore the cause and effect relationship and the underlying mechanisms at the cellular and molecular levels.

It is worth mentioning that in May 2024,Shenzhen Shekou People's Hospitalof researchers in " Food & Function "The journal published an article entitled"Breakfast skipping and risk of all-cause，cardiovascular and cancer mortality among adults：a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies "Research paper.

Eating breakfast regularly may extend your life, compared with eating breakfast regularly.Skipping breakfast was associated with a 27% increased risk of all-cause mortality, a 28% increased risk of cardiovascular mortality, and a 34% increased risk of cancer mortality., the results highlight the importance of eating breakfast regularly for health and longevity.

Taken together, the results suggest that earlier first meal times are associated with slower biological aging, higher meal frequency is associated with delayed biological aging, and skipping breakfast or having a later first meal accelerates aging. This means that changing meal times may be a practical and effective anti-aging strategy.

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