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Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, said: ”Waiting a few hours before eating anything after waking up is better for staying healthy and shedding excess pounds.” This is mainly because people now eat dinner later at night than previous generations, only stopping eating around 9 pm, the academic argues.
An 11 am breakfast could therefore be the perfect way for a person to achieve 14 hours of fasting overnight, which growing evidence suggests is best for the metabolism.
Professor Spector told an audience at Cheltenham Science Festival: “If you have a later breakfast, that will give you some benefits. I think we have to rethink all the things we have been told that are unhealthy because there’s just so much new science coming out.”
Speaking after the talk, he said: “There are still people, particularly in the north of England, who eat earlier, but generally we have moved towards continental eating habits, having dinner much later like people in Spain and Italy.
“Even those who don’t do that may end up snacking up until 9pm, making it difficult to achieve a 14-hour fasting period.
“There is a simple change people can make by shifting their breakfast from 8 am to 11 am, which is more effective than more fashionable fasting diets like 5:2.”
Fasting is a popular dieting technique where a person can eat whatever they want within a specific time every day.
However, there has been much debate over its effectiveness and at what time of the day a person should eat and when they should stop.
In a study that has been researched eating earlier in the day, at 3 pm, is more beneficial than eating into the evening, with people losing three pounds more over five weeks.
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He added that people who feel “ravenous” in the morning, or “fear becoming light-headed without an earlier breakfast” can quickly adapt to a new routine.
Prof Spector is co-creator of the ZOE app which was used to help track Covid in the community but also inspects a person’s gut bacteria to find out what foods and diets would likely work best for them.
For example, he says in his book Spoon-Fed: Why Almost Everything We’ve Been Told About Food Is Wrong, that some people gain weight if they eat breakfast, with the morning consumption particularly treacherous to their waistline.
At breakfast, Prof Spector added: “We know from our studies that everyone is different, and some people respond differently to high-carb and high-fat breakfasts, so it is important to understand that as well.”
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