Older adults who typically went longer between meals accumulated chronic diseases more rapidly over time than those who had shorter meal intervals, according to a study from Karolinska Institutet published in the Journal of Internal Medicine. The association was particularly strong among adults aged 78 years and older.
Interest in fasting and meal timing has grown considerably in recent years, with some research exploring their potential effects on metabolism and health. However, much of this research has focused on younger and middle-aged adults, leaving uncertainty about whether longer periods without food have similar associations with health in later life.
To investigate, researchers examined whether the longest interval between meals during a typical day was associated with the rate at which older adults accumulated chronic diseases. The study focused on multimorbidity, or the presence of multiple chronic health conditions, which becomes increasingly common as people age.
The researchers analysed data from the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen (SNAC-K). The study included 2,981 people living in Stockholm who were aged 60 years or older when the research began. Participants were followed for up to 15 years, allowing researchers to track changes in their health and the development of chronic conditions over an extended period.
Participants provided information about the times they typically ate during a 24-hour period, which researchers used to estimate the duration of their longest daily interval between meals. The analysis found that longer gaps were associated with a faster accumulation of chronic diseases over time. Those whose longest daily interval between meals ranged from 14 to 24 hours accumulated diseases more rapidly than participants whose longest interval was between six and 11.5 hours.
The association was not limited to overall disease burden. Longer meal intervals were also linked to a faster accumulation of cardiovascular and neuropsychiatric diseases. However, researchers did not find the same association for musculoskeletal diseases, suggesting that the relationship between meal timing and health may vary depending on the type of chronic condition.
“Much of the research on fasting has been conducted in younger or middle-aged populations. Our findings suggest that the associations may be different in older adults, particularly among the oldest age groups,” said Adrián Carballo Casla, the study’s last author and a postdoctoral researcher at the Aging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society at Karolinska Institutet. The findings were especially pronounced among participants aged 78 and older, highlighting the importance of studying meal patterns specifically in older populations.
The researchers cautioned that the findings show an association rather than a cause-and-effect relationship. The study cannot establish that longer periods between meals directly caused participants to accumulate chronic diseases more quickly, or whether other health, lifestyle or behavioural factors contributed to the observed pattern. Nevertheless, the results suggest that findings about fasting in younger populations may not necessarily apply to older adults and that age should be carefully considered when examining the potential health effects of meal timing.
More information: Luis Kalmbach et al, Habitual fasting duration and accelerated multimorbidity in older adults, Journal of Internal Medicine. DOI: 10.1111/joim.70150
Journal information: Journal of Internal Medicine Provided by Karolinska Institutet
