A new study from researchers in Barcelona, Spain suggests that people who eat their evening meal by 9pm or leave at least two hours between their meal and bedtime, can reduce their risk of breast and prostate cancer. Compared with those who eat after 10pm or who go to bed soon after eating, the reduction in risk is around 20%.
Breast and prostate cancers, besides being two of the most common cancers worldwide, are also among those most strongly associated with night-shift work, circadian disruption and alteration of biological rhythms. The study assessed each participant’s lifestyle and chronotype (an individual’s preference for morning or evening activity), and looked at 620 cases of prostate cancer and 1200 cases of breast cancer. The study author concludes that if the findings are confirmed, they will have implications for cancer prevention recommendations, which currently do not take meal timing into account. The impact could be especially important in cultures such as those of southern Europe, where people eat supper late.
(Effect of mistimed eating patterns on breast and prostate cancer risk (MCC-Spain Study). International Journal of Cancer, 17 July 2018.)