Nutritionists Warn Against Skipping Meals or Delayed Dinners: Here's Why

Be honest. How many of us youngsters eat on time? Our busy lifestyles have made it the norm to eat whenever we have time or skip meals occasionally, especially nowadays with dietary fads like the intermittent fasting trend. Instead of having a well-balanced meal on time, many people have replaced this habit with breakfast.

Why you should eat meals on time
Dr. Coville opined that people often believe that if they don't eat or skip meals, it will help them avoid metabolic conditions like being overweight or obese. However, "that's not true," he said. "Food is fuel for our bodies," Dr. "That's why it's important to feed your body in the right amount and at the right time," Coville said.

The growing trend of premature meals is a direct result of people eating for pleasure rather than hunger. This trend has replaced our traditional Indian meals where we used to have sabzi, salad, curd, dal, roti and everything together. Dr. "The growing trend of premature eating has led to epidemics of obesity, diabetes, blood pressure and similar lifestyle disorders," Coville said.

Snacking trumps timely meals
Another issue is snacking, which is increasingly replacing mealtimes, and has become a "household problem around the world," said Dr. Coville. He suggested that habits like midnight snacking can seriously harm health. “What has happened in the last three and a half decades is that eating has become a pleasurable expression. Earlier, people had few options for food, so their meals were hungry. However, now with so many options, people eat for pleasure. They imagine what they will eat for dinner or on the weekend. It becomes a pleasurable behavior and it overrides the hunger behavior," he explained.

This is why India's undernourishment, overeating and obese population are at an all-time high in the last three to four decades, says Dr. Coville said.

Plus, it's easy to make poha, dosa, or a sandwich for dinner, which are "high-carb refined foods that increase your sugar, cholesterol, and weight."

Talking about what constitutes a balanced diet, Dr. Coville listed:

55 to 60% carbohydrates
15 to 20% healthy fats
25 to 30% protein
Additional micronutrients