Think before you decide to skip your next meal.People often miss meals because they get busy or are trying to lose weight. But how you skip meals, and the amount you eat at your next meal, can affect your overall health.
The scientific data on skipping meals has been confusing. In some studies, fasting has resulted in measurable metabolic benefits for obese people, and in animal studies, intermittent feeding and fasting reduces the incidence of diabetes and improves certain indicators of cardiovascular health. Even so, several observational studies and short-term experiments have suggested an association between meal skipping and poor health.
In recent months, two new studies may help explain how skipping meals affects health.
The most recent study, published this month in the medical journal Metabolism, looked at what happens when people skip meals but end up eating just as much as they would in a normal day when they finally do sit down to a meal. The study, conducted by diabetes researchers at the National Institute on Aging, involved healthy, normal-weight men and women in their 40s. For two months, the study subjects ate three meals a day. For another eight-week period, they skipped two meals but ate the same number of calories in one evening meal, consumed between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.
The researchers found that skipping meals during the day and eating one large meal in the evening resulted in potentially risky metabolic changes. The meal skippers had elevated fasting glucose levels and a delayed insulin response — conditions that, if they persisted long term, could lead to diabetes.
The study was notable because it followed another study earlier this year that found that skipping meals every other day could actually improve a patient’s health. In that study, published in March in Free Radical Biology & Medicine, overweight adults with mild asthma ate normal meals one day. This was followed by a day of severely restricted eating, when they ate less than 20 percent of their normal caloric intake, or about 400 or 500 calories a day — the equivalent of about one meal. Nine out of 10 study participants were able to stick to the eating plan.
After following the alternate-day dieting pattern for two months, the dieters lost an average of 8 percent of their body weight, and their asthma-related symptoms also improved. They had lower cholesterol and triglycerides, “striking” reductions in markers of oxidative stress and increased levels of the antioxidant uric acid. Markers of inflammation were also significantly lower.
The conclusion, say the authors of the more recent meal-skipping study, is that skipping meals as part of a controlled eating plan that results in lower calorie intake can result in better health. However, skipping meals during the day and then overeating at the evening meal results in harmful metabolic changes in the body.
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From 1 to 25 of 54 Comments
The simple answer: If you’re going to skip one meal, skip dinner.
— AlizaI completely agree with Aliza. I frequently lunch or dinner, but never breakfast. It’d be interesting to see if eating the one big meal in the morning had different results.
— ZoeBreakfast is only coffee and various teas in generous doses until the 1st solid food of the day comes between 3 and 4pm. Two or three snacks follow. I lost 40 pounds (193 to 163) since June using this practice. Of course there’s a lot more to it than just meal schedules.
— carlThe Free Radical Biology & Medicine study doesn’t sound like it proved anything about the benefits of skipping meals. You could just as easily surmise that the asthmatic patients had less symptoms because they lost weight OVERALL, not necessarily because they skipped meals. And how many people can skip meals on a regular basis without gorging later?
— DanieAnd Carl, obviously there’s a lot more math to it too, as 193 to 163 is only 30 lbs.
— Beth E.Please try to make a larger study involving Buddhist monks who usually have only one meal a day which always take place before noon, skipping evening meals and dinner all of their religious lives. I generally found that they have excellent health and live longer lives than normal people.
— KyawThetTunAnother recent finding in a similar vein (pun intended) was presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions In Nov 2007 which suggests an even more critical benefit from fasting. There seems to be a significant correlation between fasting once a month and lower rates of coronary artery disease. It has been known since the ’70s that Latter-Day Saints have lower rates of heard disease, primarily due to prohibition from tobacco, however fasting seems to be an independent predictor as well. “Fasting was associated with lower odds of being diagnosed with CAD by 39 percent” The study limitation is its case-control design and not the gold-standard prospective randomized, double-blinded study. That being said, the potential rewards for a fairly minimal sacrifice, i.e. fasting one day a month certainly seems appealing.
Here’s the link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-11/aha-pws102407.php
— Laura Anderson M.D.Looks like Carl (#3) also lost his ability to subtract.
— MikeWhat I’m curious about is the inflammation-related differences. A few years ago I dropped a fair amount of weight (16 kilos, from 74 to 58) and as I did, the pain I’d been feeling in my joints basically vanished. I thought it was due to the antibiotic treatment I was taking for Lyme’s, but now the pain is back and I’m gaining (have gained) weight again, only this time around, it would have nothing to do with Lyme’s.
At the time I was making every effort to lose weight by dieting, (low carbs, high protein) but also skipping dinner as often as possible because it was the one time of the day when it didn’t matter if I felt tired or not.
After reading this article, I’m wondering which came first, and whether my New Year’s resolution shouldn’t be to skip dinner every other day, which is basically what I’d inadvertently done, and which resulted in a marked improvement in my feeling of well-being.
— A.J.These two studies are clearly not investigating the same process. The first study created two steady-state eating patterns, eight weeks on three meals a day and then eight weeks on one meal per day. It also had them eating the same number of calories every day
The other study utilized alternate day fasting with one day normal and the next with a calorically restricted intake of 400-500 calories. This is a short-term, transient response loading which would not put an excessive load on the digestive system like an 1800 calorie meal eaten all at once would and would have variable caloric intake at the other meals.
From an evolutionary standpoint, it is unlikely that humans would eat one huge meal every day with not so much as some nuts, a few berries or a scrap of meat all day. Certainly they would not have done this every single day. However, would there be random days where they would be forced to skip a meal due to lack of food, weather, hunting or illness? Probably. Would our bodies have evolved to tolerate the occasional skipped meal? I suspect they would have and likely could have been, if not necessarily beneficial, certainly not harmful to us.
— BrianTo #9: Body fat is pro-inflammatory. Fat is essentially an endocrine organ — it produces hormones and pro-inflammatory substances, and has a lot of profound effects throughout the body. This is well-established. So yes, having more fat on your body will worsen your inflammatory symptoms, as well as putting extra pressure on your joints. Whatever way you remove that fat will help your inflammation, whether it’s through skipping meals or eating 10 tiny meals per day.
— TMLThere are so many variables involved when comparing people who fast occasionally (e.g., frequency: one meal a day, alternate days, monthly; what other changes they make to their diet and lifestyle), that unless one investigates these variables in greater detail, the findings are virtually meaningless.
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In reference to the comments about longevity and religious fasting — I haven’t researched if any studies show a correlation here, but don’t discount the effects of meditation. I sincerely doubt that skipping meals in order to work long hours has a positive health benefit, but skipping meals to spend a half hour in quiet meditation or prayer could do wonders for your mind and body. And I don’t think the positive health effects of taking this time to relax would be lessened at all by quieting your hunger pangs with a small meal in the evening.
— LizTo TML / #11 (though a bit off topic on general post)
— KarenI have an inflammatory condition and joint problems - most recently had carpal tunnel / de quervains release and the massive pile of inflammed tissue in my wrist completely shocked dr, highly unusual, esp in 33 yr old (biopsy showed nothing malignant).
I have if anything too little fat (right now around 103 lbs at 5′2″ and I am fairly muscle-y) - though my joint conditions prevent as much exercise as I’d like, I still exercise a fair amt, and I don’t eat much. So less fat clearly NOT reducing inflammation in my case, and some have suggested it could be aggravating my condition. Also is there some link b/n both exercise and anxiety raising levels of some hormone (cortisol?) that elevates inflammation or body’s inflammatory response?
I’m not a dinner eater (unless I’ve been invited to someone’s home, meeting with people for dinner, or it’s a holiday), and I haven’t been for years. Socially, it’s a little awkward and people think it’s strange, but I love it. I have a good breakfast, a filling lunch, and make sure I never go to bed hungry, but I really don’t feel like I need a large quantity of food in my stomach as I sleep at night. I don’t snack too much because frequent eating promotes tooth decay.
I’m petite(5′3), but not rail-thin (nor do I want to be), so I don’t skip dinner for dieting purposes. As my situation is opposite this article’s conclusion, am I also at risk to metabolic changes?
From TPP — You describe eating two meals a day and missing dinner because you’re not hungry, which is very different than missing meals all day and eating all your calories at dinner. I think the study findings are limited to those people who skip meals and then overeat at the end of the day as a result. You really can’t extrapolate this data to your situation.
— GraceIn the original Free Radical Biology & Medicine article, it was reported the participants were instructed to drink only a 320-380 calorie portion of a LOW CARB (Atkins) meal-replacement shake on the restricted calorie days. (On the nonrestricted days, they were instructed to eat the same foods as usual, to the point of satisfaction.) The ketone levels on restricted days were much higher than on nonrestricted days, which is an indicator that the participants stuck to the diet.
I wonder if what the participants ate on the nonrestricted days influenced the outcomes. Would the results have been the same had the participants eaten 320-380 calories of carbohydrates on restricted days?
Also, one surprising thing in the original article was that the participants reported that their mood and energy levels improved and then stabled off as the alternate day calorie restricted diet went along. I know that my mood gets a lot worse as my hunger pangs get stronger. Maybe, the joy of breaking a fast every other day outweighs the pain of starving a few days a week? I’m mixed on this one.
— JustusJustus, where do you find the full text of that article to identify the Atkins shake as the restricted-day food?
— HankHank, try:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2006.12.005
Below is the text from that article that describes the food instructions in the restricted and nonrestricted calorie conditions:
“After a 14-day prediet period during which baseline variables were recorded, all subjects initiated ADCR in which women were instructed to consume 320 calories and men 380 calories of a
commercially available canned meal replacement shake (Atkins Advantage or Carb Solutions) provided to the subjects. On the other day subjects ate ad libitum (AL). . . .They were told to eat on the AL day whatever they normally ate and to the point of satisfaction but not to intentionally overeat.” (p. 666).
Note. ADCR = Alternate day calorie restriction.
— JustusI’ve tended to eat like this naturally all my life, because it just feels good to me. I generally eat a fairly small meal for breakfast (like yogurt with some granola), eat a decent size lunch (like a large salad with sardines and buttered sourdough bread), then only have a snack later in the day (like a slice of cheese and some tortilla chips or an orange). I don’t eat the exact same things each day, but this is fairly typical for me. And I look like I’m about 15 years younger than I really am, have never had any serious illness though I’m in my 40s, and have always been fit and thin without working out (though I do dance around my house from time to time and take walks a couple times a week). I also get 8 hours of sleep every night, meditate, avoid TV, drink lots of water, don’t smoke or drink alcohol, and generally maintain a positive attitude. I don’t make any of these decisions because I think I should, but simply because I’ve found over the years that it is what makes me feel most healthy, vibrant and comfortable in my body.
I say all this to point out that I think it is more than just the fasting issue that relates to health, but that living in attunement with what feels most vibrant is a natural part of a generally healthy lifestyle, and that light eating is what feels good if you never develop a habit of overeating.
— IndiThank you Beth E (#5) and Mike (#8) for kindly correcting my fuzzy math. The scales have fallen from my eyes. One relevant footnote is that as of this morning I weigh 158 pounds, which yields a new lost-weight figure (and potential refuge for a fresh math error!) of 35 pounds. Not that it matters much, but I’m 56 and have been eating late since 7th grade. Go (slimming) figure.
— carlcarl
i think that this article and the study support my hunch, which is that you need to “mix it up” on your body in order to keep your metabolism from going into defense mode and slowing down. i know a lot of people who regularly skip lunch and dinner, yet are overweight and getting bigger. the evening meals and drinks are too much for the body to process. i rarely skip meals, never skip breakfast, and have been able to maintain a bmi of 23. this after struggling with my weight for the better 1/2 of my 40 years.
— todd#3 Carl: The subtraction theory can be mathematically determined through the documented fact people only use 10% of their brain, see Medical Myths. Since Carl lost 30 pounds, roughly 15% of his body weight, he obviously also lost 15% of his brain mass and his utilizable brain now is only 85% of the 10% of the 193 pounds when he started. QED: Persons losing weight improve their overall health but reduce their utilizable brain power. The traditional tradeoffs.
From TPP — Can we start being nice?. The guy made a math mistake, something everyone does from time to time. Who cares if he lost 30 or 40 pounds — either way that’s a bigger accomplishment than most of us, myself included, can claim. Go Carl.
— terryIn the FRBM study, subjects showed improvement in peak flow (measured daily inb a.m. with a mini-Wright Peak Flow Meter) starting within 2-3 days of starting alternate day calorie restriction, suggesting a [powerful anti-inflammatory process was at work. Average peak flow improvement was 14.4% over the course of the study. In contrast, most studies have shown that weight loss , even in the range of 40-50 lbs., does not improve lung function, only pulmonary compliance.
— James JohnsonNo slight meant to Carl, #22. The issue highlighted was basing conclusions upon either slight data, erroneous data, or no data at all. As a process engineer I saw too many times persons, such as Carl, stating a result wished for rather than what obviously occurred from the data (particularly timely given the blizzard of weight loss ads for the New Year). Since reliable data for a confirmed conclusion is extremely expensive, many people use logic. My conclusion upon brain capacity clearly is reasonable in that there is no inherent contradiction. Of course, there is absolutely no reliable data to support that conclusion, exacerbated by there being no reliable data for the underlying premise, that only 10% of brain capacity is used. My (possibly incorrect) understanding of the current frontier in brain research is, What is the basis/bases of human beings sleeping, something all of us have done at one time or another (or I believe everyone has done).
— terryShrinking or skipping dinner is the best thing to do. Digestion takes many hours and your system can’t digest properly when you are in bed sleeping. It’s best to get your digestion done in the middle of the day while you are moving around. This is a common sense notion long held by Ayerveda.
The worst possible thing is to come home hungry from skipping the meals you needed during the day and eat a big late dinner.
It seems like such a simple thing, but I would bet that a major factor in obesity is night meals, and that no good study has been done that takes this into account.
— chuckamok