Study: Irregular eating schedules may increase the risk of heart disease in men

A recent study found that irregular eating schedules may lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, this increased risk appeared only in men, according to the German NTFA website.

The study focused on what is called “eating timing disorder,” which usually means variation in meal times between workdays and weekends or vacation days.

The study, supervised by researchers from the prestigious French Sorbonne University, showed that this change in eating patterns may lead to a disruption of the body’s biological rhythm, and thus affect it, according to what was reported by the Medical Express website, which specializes in medical news.

The results were based on a large study that included data from nearly 105,000 people, whose average age was 42.7 years. The study continued for several years, collecting participants' data and then comparing it with their medical records.

During the study period, approximately 2,400 cases of cardiovascular disease were recorded. The researchers determined the degree of disturbance in eating schedules by comparing the timing of the first and last meal on workdays and vacation days.

To confirm the existence of a relationship between disordered eating schedules and the risk of cardiovascular disease, researchers used statistical models that took into account multiple factors, such as age, marital status, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, diet, and sleep, according to the German NT-FAO website.

The researchers divided the study participants into 3 categories according to the extent to which eating times changed. In the first category, “early,” it concerns people who eat their meals on the weekend about two hours earlier than usual.

The second “regular” category included people whose meal times did not differ much between work days and vacation days. The third category, “late,” included people who delayed eating their meals on the weekend by about an hour.

Experts noted that every hour of changing the time of eating meals, whether by advancing or delaying them, was associated with a 14 percent increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease in men.

Also, experts observed an increase in the risk of coronary artery disease by up to 21 percent in men, while researchers were unable to prove the existence of this relationship in women. It is noteworthy that the study did not take into account the quality or quantity of food.

The study pointed out that it is not yet possible to explain why the effect of eating disorder differs between men and women. This may be related to physiological differences between the sexes, and there may also be differences in lifestyles and social and economic conditions that lead to different daily biological rhythms.

“This new study suggests that, in addition to the issue of later timing of eating, maintaining consistent meal timings between weekdays and weekends may be equally important,” said Bernard Sorour, research director at the French Agricultural and Food Research Institute Enray.

He added in statements reported by the Medical Express website: “These links appear to be independent of individuals’ sleep duration, which suggests that the regularity of meal times may in itself help reset our biological rhythm. We are continuing our research to better understand this phenomenon.”