Overview

• An analysis of 927,130 adults in Japan linked skipping breakfast at least three times per week with an 18% higher risk of major osteoporotic fractures.
• Eating dinner within 2 hours of bedtime was associated with an 8% higher risk, with elevated risks reported for hip, vertebral and humerus fractures.
• During a median 2.6 years of follow-up, 28,196 major fractures were identified through insurance claims, an incidence of 10.8 per 1,000 person-years.
• Risks were additive: late dinners carried an adjusted hazard ratio of about 1.09, breakfast skipping about 1.20, and both habits together about 1.23 versus neither.
• The study found these meal patterns clustered with smoking, low physical activity and insufficient sleep, while regular exercise and faster walking were linked to lower fracture risk.