Shifting meal times between weekdays and weekends, a phenomenon referred to as 'eating jetlag,' may elevate the risk of cardiovascular disease, especially in men, according to a recent study.
The research, which followed over 100,000 participants in the French NutriNet-Sante cohort for eight years, found that individuals whose eating schedules varied between weekdays and weekends had a higher risk of cardiovascular and coronary heart disease compared to those with consistent meal patterns.
Participants were categorized based on their eating schedules: one group ate earlier on weekends, another maintained similar schedules throughout the week, and a third ate later on weekends. Men in both the earlier and later weekend meal-timing groups showed an increased risk, with the strongest associations observed in those who ate earlier on weekends.
For each hour of difference in meal timing between weekdays and weekends, men experienced a 14% higher risk of cardiovascular disease and a 21% higher risk of coronary heart disease. However, the study did not find significant associations in women, nor did it establish a link with strokes.
The authors suggested that men's generally higher inherent risk of cardiovascular disease, alongside potential differences in lifestyle, work patterns, and biological factors between genders, could explain these findings. They noted in the journal Communications Medicine that discrepancies in mealtimes might contribute to the onset of cardiovascular disease, underscoring the importance of meal timing regularity for cardiovascular health.
In the UK, cardiovascular disease, encompassing heart disease and stroke, is responsible for approximately 170,000 deaths annually, representing a quarter of all fatalities. Major contributing factors include smoking, poor diet, excess weight, and inactivity.