The influence of meal frequency and meal timing on cardiometabolic health

Metabolic syndrome is a disease with increasing incidence, affecting large numbers of people worldwide and increasing mortality rates. Increased body weight is a major risk factor for the disease. Patients with metabolic syndrome are at increased risk of obesity-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Medical nutrition therapy, which is an important part of the treatment of the disease, reaches a sustainable treatment format if it is planned by considering the medical and social status of the individual. Evidence-based medical nutrition therapy should also be shaped according to personal characteristics such as socioeconomic status, physical activity and eating habits. Nutritional habits not only vary from person to person but have also changed from past to present. In the accelerating world, living conditions have moved away from the traditional meal pattern, and meal times and numbers have changed. In order to provide sustainable and evidence-based medical nutrition therapies suitable for individuals' current living conditions, it has become necessary to know the health effects of new eating habits such as skipping meals, meal timing and hunger. In this review, the effects of new eating habits such as meal frequency, meal timing (eating in mornings, eating at nights, eating at irregular meals) and skipping meals on the emergence and pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome and its components were examined.