Which is better: Breakfast or Dinner for a Person With Diabetes?

Now that was a (killer) dinner!

There has been much research surrounding what is the ideal distribution of food intake during the day. Simply put, “what should I eat, and when should I eat it?”

A recent study published in Diabetes Care provides some new data points. In a study titled “The Association of Energy and Macronutrient Intake at Dinner vs. Breakfast with Disease-Specific and All-Cause Mortality Among People with Diabetes”, researchers found an association between an increase in health risks and an increase of calories eaten at dinner.

Specifically, the research showed noticeable health benefits by shifting only 5% of calories from a typical dinner meal and to a typical breakfast meal. The study focused on the death rate of study participants with the manipulation of calories as the only variable. There was a statistically significant and positive shift in the mortality rate for those study participants who had more calories at breakfast versus those who had more calories at dinnertime.

This study adds to the growing body of research that highlights the importance of having a more balanced distribution of calories during the day and not overeating during the evening hours.

It, also, perhaps adds some truth to the old adage that breakfast is the most important meal of the day!