IF you skip meals, eat on the go or snack late at night you could be doing damage to your health, according to a new study.
The research revealed that those of us who eat proper sit-down meals are healthier than those who don’t, while eating a big breakfast and smaller dinner might be a good idea.
Meanwhile, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity are ALL thought to be potential outcomes of a disrupted meal cycle.
And dieters should avoid eating calorie-laden meals late at night.
The findings were so clear that the experts have suggested recommended meal times should feature in the government’s national dietary guidelines - alongside calorie, fat, salt and sugar intake.
The authors of two review papers, published in the Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, have called for more large-scale studies to confirm if irregular eating is linked to higher risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.
One of the paper's authors is Dr Gerda Pot, a lecturer in nutritional sciences at King’s College London.
She told the Times: “There seems to be some truth in saying, ‘Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper’ – however this warrants further investigation.
“Whilst we have a much better understanding today of what we should be eating, we are left with the question as to which meal should provide us with the most energy.
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“Although the evidence suggests eating more calories later in the evening is associated with obesity, we are still far from understanding whether our energy intake should be distributed equally across the day or whether breakfast should contribute the greatest proportion of energy.”