Breakfast timing could affect your odds for diabetes

Eating in the early morning hours is associated with lower insulin resistance and lower risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a study to be presented at ENDO 2021, a virtual conference from The Endocrine Society held March 20-23.

These findings were part of a study on fasting, but researchers found there were benefits to an early breakfast even if you aren't fasting.

"We found people who started eating earlier in the day had lower blood sugar levels and less insulin resistance, regardless of whether they restricted their food intake to less than 10 hours a day," Dr. Marriam Ali, lead researcher of the study from Northwestern University in Chicago, said in a press release.

Ali and her team analyzed data from 10,575 adult Americans from a national survey on health and nutrition to see if they could find patterns between meal timing and levels of blood sugar and insulin, Insider reported.

They found that intermittent fasting, or eating during a limited window of 10 hours or less each day, was linked to higher insulin resistance. That means people who fasted were less responsive to insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar. Insulin resistance is a risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes. These findings contrast with previous research showing fasting might improve insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control.

However, people had lower levels of insulin resistance if they had their first meal before 8:30 am, regardless of whether they fasted or not. And while fasting didn't seem to matter for blood sugar levels, an early breakfast did. People who ate before 8:30 am had lower blood sugar levels, too, suggesting the morning meal had more metabolic benefits overall.

"These findings suggest that timing is more strongly associated with metabolic measures than duration and support early eating strategies," Ali said in the press release.