Having Breakfast After 9 in the Morning Significantly Boosts Risks of Developing Type 2 Diabetes Compared to Those Who Eat Before 8 A.M., Study Reveals

A study has discovered that even the timing of one's eating could affect risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Early or Late Breakfast Can Affect Type 2 Diabetes Risk

According to Science Daily, an ISGlobal (Institute for Global Health) team joined a French INSERM team to examine the link between the timing and frequency of meals as well as type 2 diabetes incidence. As such, they investigated this in 103,312 adults, with 79% of them being women, from the cohort of the French NutriNet-NutriNet-Santé. Radio Pakistan also adds that they followed through with the participants for seven years.

As part of the study, participants supplied online dietary records containing their eating and drinking data over a 24-hour period. They also examined their meal timing. The participants did so for three days that were not consecutive.

The researchers then got the average of their dietary records for two years of follow-up. They also looked into the health of the participants in the coming years, which was an average of seven years.

Science Daily reports that, during the course of the study, there were 963 new type 2 diabetes cases. Those who regularly had breakfast after 9 a.m. were found to have a significantly higher risk compared to those who had breakfast earlier, before 8 a.m.

Anna Palomar-Cros, the study's first author and a researcher from ISGlobal, explains that it is biologically sensible, as skipping breakfast could affect the control of lipids, glucose, and insulin levels. The researchers add that the findings align with two other meta-analyses that have discovered that skipping breakfast boosts one's risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The researchers also observed that having dinner past 10 p.m. also seemingly boosted the risk. More frequent eating was also found to be linked to a lower incidence. Science Daily adds that prolonged fasting is only good if it is done when one has an early breakfast and an early dinner.

Manolis Kogevinas, a co-author of the study and also a researcher from ISGlobal, explains that their findings suggest that one must have their first meal before 8 a.m. and have their last one before seven in the evening. This is necessary to reduce incidence of type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 Diabetes

The Mayo Clinic explains that type 2 diabetes happens due to bodily issues with regulating and using glucose. As such, the condition leads to too much sugar in the blood. Over time, higher levels of blood sugar could spiral and lead to other conditions involving the nervous, immune, and circulatory systems.

When it comes to this type of diabetes, there are two primary issues. One, the pancreas' production of insulin, which regulates sugar movement, is insufficient. Second, the cells poorly respond to insulin and get fewer amounts of sugar.

Type 2 diabetes cannot be cured, but it can be managed by having a healthy diet, exercising, and losing weight. In cases where these lifestyle changes are not sufficient to control sugar levels, insulin therapy or other medications could be taken.

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