To breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper, has long been claimed as the secret of good health. Now scientists have given this ancient mantra a subtle twist.
Scientists now say that the best way to get into shape is to eschew all meals after 3pm.
Intermittent fasting has grown in popularity in recent years - emulating the habits of our hunter-gather ancestors, who did not have access to food 24/7. However, researchers who reviewed 250 studies on diets and lifestyles have now concluded that fasting for around 15 hours a day is optimal for health and weight loss.
The research found that dieters who ate early were most likely to achieve significant weight loss. One study of women on calorie-controlled diets for 12 weeks found that those who ate most of their meals early in the day lost 11 lbs (5kg / 0.8 stone) more than those eating the same calories spread over the day.
Even more encouragingly, scientists also found that feasting early was associated with a host of additional health benefits - reducing blood pressure, inflammation and risk factors for diabetes.
The body of research suggested that shifting dinner forward by a couple of hours was not sufficient to make a difference.
Dr Peterson, associate professor and co-director of the Sleep and Circadian Research Core at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, USA, said: “Some of the recent studies where they’ve tested having people eat in a 12-hour window and fast for 12 hours a day haven’t found any additional benefits.”
Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum, said: “The mantra ‘breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper’ couldn't be better to describe this research.” He said such changes offered a “painless” way to lose weight.
The findings were presented at the European Congress on Obesity in the Netherlands.