Eating Earlier Can Keep You Healthy

by Stephanie Stahl

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- We know what we eat can affect our heart health, but now a new report finds when we eat could also play an important role.

This is more proof that starting your day with breakfast has several important health benefits, and that planning small meals that taper off the later it gets can help you live longer

Elena Alonzo now makes time for breakfast after years of skipping it.

"I always thought I was not hungry, and now I realize how much energy this actually gives me," she said.

A new scientific statement from the American Heart Association says eating more of your calories earlier in the day may help keep the heart healthy.

"People who consume breakfast on a regular basis have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease," said the statement's author, Dr. Marie-Pierre St-Onge, with the Columbia University Medical Center.

Studies show that eating earlier, when your body can better metabolize food, may lower heart disease risk factors like obesity, high blood pressure, and cholesterol.

Spreading your calories across more, smaller meals also seems to benefit the heart.

"Consume a balanced diet, obviously, but if this can be done in the context of more frequent meals, during the waking hours, not so close to bedtime, and earlier in the day, that would be the ideal," Dr. St-Onge said.

And that should start with a healthy breakfast. If we don't ritualize something, it's really easy for it to fall away.

Studies show about 20-to-30% of adults in the U.S. skip breakfast.

Researchers say it's important to plan meals, including first thing in the morning, and to avoid eating because of stress, boredom, or fatigue, and late night snacking should be off limits.