A study has found that the risk of developing insulin resistance in middle-aged and older adults who eat more than three meals a day is about 12% lower compared to those who eat two meals or fewer. This research outcome was announced on the 10th by a team led by Professor Kwon Yoo-jin and Clinical Instructor Ryu Ha-eun from the Department of Family Medicine at Yongin Severance Hospital, Yonsei University. The study utilized data from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES) from 2001 to 2020, tracking 4,570 adults aged 40 to 69 over an average of 10.6 years.
Insulin resistance is a condition where body tissues such as the liver, muscle, and fat do not respond properly to insulin. It is a major pathological feature of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome and is closely related to chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases.
Recently, weight loss strategies that reduce meal frequency, like intermittent fasting or time-restricted eating, have gained attention. However, it remains unclear whether weight loss from these strategies is solely due to reduced meal frequency and calorie restriction or other factors.
To address this, the research team analyzed the impact of the number of daily meals on the incidence of insulin resistance, examining differences by subgroups such as gender, body mass index (BMI), and whether participants had diabetes. Participants were divided into two groups based on whether they ate three or more meals a day or fewer than three meals. The ‘HOMA-IR’ index was used to assess insulin resistance.
Evaluation using the Cox proportional hazards model revealed that the group eating more than three meals a day had about 12% lower risk of developing insulin resistance compared to those eating fewer than three meals. Additionally, weight, fasting glucose, and triglyceride levels were positively maintained. This association was significant in men, non-obese individuals, and those without diabetes, but not in women, obese individuals, or diabetic patients.
Professor Kwon stated, “This study is significant as it is the first large-scale cohort study to longitudinally track the relationship between the number of daily meals and insulin resistance.” Based on the study results, future research will focus on developing more advanced interventions and customized dietary improvement programs for high-risk metabolic disease groups.
The results of this study were published in the recent issue of the international journal ‘Diabetes and Metabolism Journal’.