By Ben Spencer Medical Correspondent For The Daily Mail
Published: 05:15 BST, 18 April 2019 | Updated: 05:15 BST, 18 April 2019
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Skipping breakfast and eating a late dinner could wreak havoc on your health, research suggests.
Scientists found people who frequently missed their morning meal and regularly ate dinner less than two hours before going to bed were far less likely to survive if they suffered a heart attack.
Experts believe shifting the bulk of food consumption to earlier in the day gives the body a better chance to burn off calories and results in a healthier hormone balance.
The theory - which backs up the old adage, 'breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper' - also holds that people who eat well in the morning are less likely to snack during the day.
People who frequently missed their morning meal and regularly ate dinner less than two hours before going to bed were far less likely to survive if they suffered a heart attack
Researchers from São Paolo State University in Brazil tracked 113 people who suffered heart attacks.
The team found 57 per cent of the participants skipped breakfast at least three times a week, 51 per cent had late dinners three times a week, and 41 per cent both missed breakfast and ate their evening meal late.
Figures suggest there are 200,000 hospital visits because of heart attacks in the UK each year, while there are around 800,000 annually in the US.
A heart attack, known
