It’s time to stop skipping breakfast.
Food & WineFollow
Stacey Leasca
Mon, June 22, 2026 at 2:00 AM PDT
https://www.foodandwine.com/irregular-meals-depression-risk-new-study-12002082
Key points
- A new study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders found that people who eat meals on an irregular schedule are more likely to experience symptoms of depression.
- The research showed that skipping breakfast could compound the effects of inconsistent meals, while a diverse diet could help alleviate them.
- Scientists emphasize that more research is needed, as depression itself can cause erratic eating habits.
An estimated 332 million people across the world live with depression, according to the World Health Organization. On top of that, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shared data last year that indicated the percentage of people suffering from depression has increased over the past decade. In the face of this pressing public health crisis, there is some good news: A new study indicates that eating consistent, regular meals could be linked to a decreased risk of developing depression.
The new study, published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Journal of Affective Disorders, found that adults who eat meals on an irregular schedule are significantly more likely to experience depressive symptoms than those who stick to consistent mealtimes. Moreover, it revealed that variables like skipping breakfast or eating a diverse array of foods could increase or decrease the mental health impacts of inconsistent meals.
Researchers analyzed data from more than 21,500 adults in Korea, which was collected between 2014 and 2022 by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through a nationally representative health survey. The scientists tracked how often participants skipped breakfast, lunch, or dinner throughout the week and measured their mental health using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), a standard depression screening tool.
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After controlling for variables including age, income, smoking, and physical activity, the researchers found that people with the most irregular meal schedules were 1.55 times more likely to exhibit clinically significant depressive symptoms than those who ate more consistently.
While they don’t yet fully understand why an irregular meal schedule could be linked to depression, researchers pointed to a few biological processes that could help explain the correlation. They noted that eating at erratic times can throw off the body’s circadian rhythms, disrupting hormones like cortisol and melatonin that play a direct role in mood regulation. Irregular eating has also been linked to changes in gut microbiome and reduced production of short-chain fatty acids, both of which, they added, can influence neuroinflammation and emotional health. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Xgd_rYwtbF0
Additionally, the scientists pointed out that inconsistent meal patterns are frequently associated with lower intake of nutrients like fiber, B vitamins, and antioxidants, all of which help the brain maintain neurotransmitter stability and emotional regulation.
The study revealed that eating breakfast may be especially important for mental health. Per its findings, people who regularly skipped breakfast — and also had irregular meal patterns — showed an even stronger association with depressive symptoms than those who simply ate at irregular times. This could be because missing the first meal of the day can delay the body’s metabolic start, destabilize blood glucose early in the day, and disrupt morning cortisol patterns.
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While eating regular meals mattered, this research underscores that what you eat is important too. Participants were assigned a “dietary diversity score” based on the inclusion of six food groups — grains, vegetables, fruits, meat, legumes and nuts, and dairy — in their diet over the course of 24 hours. People with greater dietary diversity showed a weaker link between meal irregularity and depression, suggesting that eating a broad range of foods can offer some protection against the effects of inconsistent meal times. Those with low dietary diversity, on the other hand, were more susceptible to the emotional impacts of meal irregularity.
There are a few caveats to this research. The scientists analyzed several subgroups — revealing stronger associations between depression and irregular meals among men, smokers, and people who regularly ate after 9 p.m. — but emphasized that such specific findings should be interpreted cautiously, as this was an observational study.
Most importantly, they noted that depression itself can lead people to eat more erratically, making it difficult to determine cause and effect. But, for now, this study serves as a reminder that we definitely shouldn’t be skipping breakfast.
Read the original article on Food & Wine
