Researchers found dining after 9pm was associated with a 28% risk of cerebrovascular disease, such as a stroke, compared with having your evening meal before 8pm.
Those who eat for the first time at 9am are six per cent more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than someone who has breakfast at 8am, it was said.
The findings also show that a longer duration of “night-time fasting” – between the last meal of the day and breakfast – was linked with a reduced risk of stroke and heart attack.
The study team said the daily cycle of food intake, alternating with periods of fasting, influences blood pressure regulation.
Dr Bernard Srour, of the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France, said:
“These findings highlight a potential role for meal timing in preventing cardiovascular disease.
“They suggest that adopting the habit of eating earlier first and last meals with a longer period of night-time fasting could help to prevent the risk of cardiovascular disease.”
The research team used data from more than 103,000 French residents – 79% of whom were women, with an average age of 42 – to study the associations between food intake patterns and cardiovascular disease.
The findings were published in the journal Nature Communications.