Eating meals earlier can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a new study Trusted Sourcepublished in the journal Nature Communications.

In their study, researchers looked at data from 103,389 adults with a median age of 42 who participated in the NutriNet-Santé study.

Medical records were obtained via the UK Biobank database. Dietary records provided information on meal timing and the number of times someone ate during 24 hours. The study had an average follow-up time of about 7 years.

During the study period, there were 2,036 cases of cardiovascular disease. This broke down as follows:

• 253 strokes
• 765 transient ischemic attack
• 162 myocardial infarctions
• 428 angioplasties
• 89 acute coronary syndromes
• 428 angina pectoris