MONDAY, Nov. 28, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Intermittent fasting — limiting eating to a small part of the day — is very popular these days. But that doesn’t mean it’s healthy.
A new study published online in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics suggests that people who skipped meals, fasted or ate their meals too closely together overall had higher risks of premature death.
“At a time when intermittent fasting is widely touted as a solution for weight loss, metabolic health and disease prevention, our study is important for the large segment of American adults who eat fewer than three meals each day,” said lead author Dr. Yangbo Sun. She’s an assistant professor of preventive medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
“Our research revealed that individuals eating only one meal a day are more likely to die than those who had more daily meals,” Sun said in a journal news release.
Participants who skipped breakfast were more likely to develop fatal heart diseases, Sun said. Those who skipped lunch or dinner increased their risk of premature death from all causes.
Even those who ate three meals a day but had them closer together than 4.5 hours apart had higher risk, the study found.
“Based on these findings, we recommend eating at least two to three meals spread throughout the day,” Sun said.
The researchers analyzed data from more than 24,000 Americans, age 40 and older, who participated in a national health and nutrition survey between 1999 and 2014.
About 40% of respondents said they ate fewer than three meals a day. They were more likely to be younger, male, Black, or those with less education and lower family income. They were more likely to be food insecure, meaning that they didn’t have enough money to buy healthy food. They were also more likely to smoke, drink more alcohol, and to eat more snacks and less healthy foods, the study found.
Senior author Dr. Wei Bao, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Iowa College of Public Health, said the results are significant even after accounting for those diet and lifestyle factors.
“Our findings are based on observations drawn from public data and do not imply causality,” he said in the release. “Nonetheless, what we observed makes metabolic sense.”
Skipping meals usually means eating more at one time, Bao said. This can aggravate blood sugar regulation and lead to health issues.
This can also explain the link between a shorter meal interval and death, as less time between meals would result in a larger energy load during the given period, according to the study.
The study noted that the American Dietary Guidelines for 2020-2025 did not address meal frequency, skipping and intervals because the committee developing them “was unable to find sufficient evidence on which to summarize the evidence between frequency of eating and health.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on nutrition.
SOURCE: Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, news release, Nov. 22, 2022
Jumatatu, Novemba 28, 2022 (HealthDay News) <unk> Kufunga mara kwa mara <unk> kupunguza kula kwa sehemu ndogo ya siku <unk> ni maarufu sana siku hizi. Lakini hilo halimaanishi kwamba ni jambo lenye afya. Utafiti uliochapishwa kwenye jarida la Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, unaonyesha kuwa watu ambao walikosa kula, walifunga au walikula chakula chao karibu sana pamoja, kwa ujumla walikuwa na hatari kubwa ya kifo cha mapema. "Wakati ambapo kufunga kwa vipindi ni kutajwa sana kama suluhisho la kupoteza uzito, afya ya kimetaboliki na kuzuia magonjwa, utafiti wetu ni muhimu kwa sehemu kubwa ya watu wazima wa Marekani ambao kula chakula chini ya mara tatu kila siku, ""alisema mwandishi mkuu Yang Bo Sun." Yeye ni profesa msaidizi wa dawa ya kuzuia katika Chuo Kikuu cha Tennessee Health Science Center. "Utafiti wetu ulifunua kwamba watu wanaokula chakula kimoja tu kwa siku wana uwezekano mkubwa wa kufa kuliko wale ambao walikuwa na chakula zaidi cha kila siku", alisema Sun katika taarifa ya habari ya jarida hilo. Washiriki waliopuuza kiamsha-kinywa walikuwa na uwezekano mkubwa zaidi wa kupatwa na magonjwa ya moyo yenye kuua, alisema Sun. Wale waliopuuza chakula cha mchana au cha jioni waliongeza hatari yao ya kufa mapema kutokana na sababu zote. Hata wale waliokula mara tatu kwa siku lakini waliokula karibu zaidi ya masaa 4.5 mbali na kila mmoja walikuwa na hatari kubwa zaidi, utafiti uligundua. "Kwa kuzingatia matokeo haya, tunapendekeza kula angalau chakula mbili hadi tatu kusambazwa siku nzima", alisema Sun. Watafiti hao walichunguza data kutoka kwa Wamarekani zaidi ya 24,000 wenye umri wa miaka 40 na zaidi, ambao walishiriki katika uchunguzi wa kitaifa wa afya na lishe kati ya 1999 na 2014. Karibu asilimia 40 ya watu waliojibu waliripoti kuwa walikula chakula kidogo kuliko mara tatu kwa siku. Walikuwa na uwezekano mkubwa wa kuwa vijana, wanaume, Weusi, au wale wenye elimu kidogo na mapato ya chini ya familia. Walikuwa na uwezekano mkubwa wa kuwa na ukosefu wa usalama wa chakula, ikimaanisha kwamba hawakuwa na pesa za kutosha kununua chakula kizuri. Pia walikuwa na uwezekano mkubwa zaidi wa kuvuta sigara, kunywa pombe zaidi, na kula vitafunio zaidi na vyakula visivyo na afya, utafiti huo uligundua. "Mwandishi mkuu wa utafiti huo, Wei Bao, profesa msaidizi wa magonjwa ya kuambukiza katika Chuo Kikuu cha Iowa, alisema: ""Hata baada ya kuzingatia mambo hayo ya lishe na mtindo wa maisha, matokeo ni muhimu." "Ugunduzi wetu unategemea uchunguzi uliochukuliwa kutoka kwa data ya umma na haimaanishi sababu", alisema katika taarifa hiyo. "Hata hivyo, kile tulichokiona kina maana ya kimetaboliki". "Kuondokana na chakula kwa kawaida humaanisha kula zaidi kwa wakati mmoja", Bao alisema. Hilo laweza kuharibu udhibiti wa sukari katika damu na kusababisha matatizo ya afya. Hii pia inaweza kuelezea uhusiano kati ya mapumziko mafupi ya chakula na kifo, kwani muda mfupi kati ya chakula ungeongoza kwa mzigo mkubwa wa nishati wakati huo, kulingana na utafiti. "Miongozo ya chakula ya Marekani ya 2020-2025 haikushughulikia ""mzunguko wa chakula, kuruka na vipindi"" kwa sababu kamati iliyoiendeleza haikuweza kupata ushahidi wa kutosha wa muhtasari wa ushahidi kati ya mzunguko wa kula na afya." JARIDA la Chuo cha Chakula na Dietetics, Novemba 22, 2022