In a recent large-scale study conducted by researchers at Osaka University which assessed the breakfast, lunch, and dinner habits, showed that skipping dinner is a "significant predictor of weight gain and overweight/obesity."

    The study included 17,573 male and 8,860 female students over the age of 18 enrolled at Osaka University over an average of three years. As part of their annual check-ups, the students were asked how often they ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The time of eating, whether participants' meal habits changed over the course of the study, and lifestyle factors like sleep, smoking, and drinking were also considered as parameters for the assessment. The researchers found that skipping dinner was significantly associated with weight gain of 10% or more, and having a BMI over 25, which is classed as overweight or obese.

According to the investigators, the reason for weight gain while skipping dinner is that it makes people more hungry and hence, they end up eating more over the course of the day. Another possible explanation, they said, is that dinner is typically a meal that lends itself to nutritious foods like lean proteins and vegetables, so skipping dinner may mean a lower quality diet. Furthermore, to get more insights regarding this aspect, similar studies should be repeated to assess a wider demographic, and they also didn't take into account factors like exercise, stress, or depression.

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