New research warns that skipping one of the three standard meals a day can have serious downsides.

According to Sciencealert, in a study of 24,011 US adults age 40 and older, eating just one meal a day was associated with an overall risk of death.

cardiovascular disease
Skipping breakfast was associated with an increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease, while skipping lunch or dinner was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

The study also found that those who ate the three meals very close together also had problems.

Eating more than 2 meals within 4.5 hours was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality.

distributed throughout the day
For context, University of Tennessee epidemiologist Yanbo Sun said: “Our study showed that people who eat only one meal a day are more likely to die than those who eat more meals a day.”

He added, “Based on these results, we recommend eating at least 2-3 meals throughout the day.”

not complete enough
However, it should be noted that this study is not thorough enough to determine whether skipping meals actually causes premature death.

So the research team adjusted their findings to account for differences in diet and lifestyle factors, including smoking, physical activity levels, diet quality and food insecurity.