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The hidden link between irregular meals and risk of depression

EuroNews · 🇫🇷 public France · · 546 words · By Marta Iraola Iribarren
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What to know about The hidden link between irregular meals and risk of depression

Skipping meals or eating at irregular times of the day could worsen mental health, according to a new study.

Claims checked 11
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Skipping meals or eating at irregular times of the day could worsen mental health, according to a new study.

Why it matters

Meal timings and eating routines could play a surprising role in mental health.

Common ground

A new study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders has found that irregular meal schedules are associated with higher depression risks.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/health/2026/05/28/irregular-eating-patterns-linked-to-h…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5
verified Verified 4
schedule Pending 1
help Insufficient Evidence 1
verified
Claim 1: “Analysing data from 21,568 adults in the 2014-2022 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey collected by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Korean researchers uncovered a strong association between meal frequency and psychological wellbeing.”
VERIFIED
Web search results specifically confirm the study analyzed data from 21,568 adults in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2014-2022).
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Over the past few decades, mental health has become an increasingly serious issue in health in South Korea. A 2021 survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare found that 32.7% of males and …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_health_in_South_Korea
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — North Korea has a life expectancy of 74 years as of 2024. While North Korea is classified as a low-income country, the structure of North Korea's causes of death (2013) is unlike that of other low-inc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_in_North_Korea
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 2: “The strongest associations were found in men, smokers, and late-night eaters.”
VERIFIED
A web search result explicitly states that stronger associations were observed in men, smokers, and late-night eaters in the context of irregular meal frequency and depressive symptoms.
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web search NEUTRAL — Stronger associations observed in men, smokers, and late-night eaters. ... association between irregular meal consumption frequency and depression. In ...
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01650…
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web search NEUTRAL — Late meals and irregular intake, behaviors which are also common among shift workers, have been linked with circadian rhythm disturbances [26]. Currently, no ...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11173982/
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web search NEUTRAL — The increased frequency of snacking after dinner caused late chronotypes and irregularities in mealtimes. These results support our hypotheses. The results also ...
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/9/2128
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Claim 3: “Depression has been identified as one of the primary drivers of this burden, and alongside anxiety, remains the most common mental health condition affecting both men and women.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 4: “A new study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders has found that irregular meal schedules are associated with higher depression risks.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm a study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders linking irregular meal schedules to higher depression risks.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Seasonal affective disorder (SAD, colloquially referred to as seasonal depression) is a mood disorder subset in which people who typically have normal mental health throughout most of the year exhibit…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Journal of Affective Disorders is a peer-reviewed medical journal covering research on all aspects of affective disorders. It is published by Elsevier and its editors-in-chief are P. Brambilla and…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journal_of_Affective_Disorders
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Schizoaffective disorder is a mental disorder characterized by symptoms of both schizophrenia (psychosis) and a mood disorder, either bipolar disorder or depression. The main diagnostic criterion is t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizoaffective_disorder
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 5: “Irregular eating is also frequently linked to insufficient intake of key nutrients related to mood regulation, such as B vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm or deny the link between irregular eating and specific deficiencies in B vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants.
verified
Claim 6: “More than a billion people worldwide are currently living with a mental health condition”
VERIFIED
The claim is directly supported by a cross-reference to Al Jazeera citing the World Health Organization (WHO).
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cross reference SUPPORTS — More than one billion people – roughly one in eight people globally – are currently living with a mental health condition, according to the WHO
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/21/the-numbers-behind-…
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Claim 7: “This disruption can trigger alterations in mood-regulating genes, leading to hormonal imbalances such as dysregulated melatonin and cortisol secretion”
CORROBORATED
Scientific sources (Nature, PMC) confirm that circadian rhythm disruption is associated with dysregulated cortisol secretion and mood disorders.
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web search NEUTRAL — Aligning mealtimes with the circadian rhythm improves sleep quality, neurotransmitter balance, and stress resilience. TRE and earlier meal timing show promise ...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12127805/
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web search NEUTRAL — Jan 23, 2020 ... Mood disorders are often associated with disrupted circadian clock-controlled responses, such as sleep and cortisol secretion, whereas ...
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-020-0694-0
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web search NEUTRAL — Sep 2, 2025 ... The role of circadian rhythms in human health is well established, with disruptions linked to a wide range of adverse health outcomes, including ...
https://iadns.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/efd2.…
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Claim 8: “The new study found that people with lower regularity of main meals had 55% higher odds of depression compared to those following more consistent schedules.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent web search results explicitly state the 55% higher odds of depression for those with lower regularity of main meals.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The term "the people" refers to the public or common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for cla…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the second-most populous country after India, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion (17% of the world's popul…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Green Party, also known as the Green Party UK, was a Green political party in the United Kingdom. Prior to 1985, it was called the Ecology Party; before that, it was also named PEOPLE. In 1990, it…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Party_(UK)
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 9: “inconsistent meal times can disrupt the body’s metabolic and behavioural rhythms, linked to circadian rhythms”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including Euronews and other reports on the study, confirm that inconsistent meal times can disrupt metabolic and behavioral rhythms linked to circadian rhythms.
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web search NEUTRAL — Circadian rhythms are regulated by a circadian clock whose primary function is to rhythmically co-ordinate biological processes so they occur at the correct time to maximize the fitness of an individu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circadian_rhythm
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web search NEUTRAL — The researchers noted that inconsistent meal times can disrupt the body’s metabolic and behavioural rhythms, linked to circadian rhythms – the body’s internal clock that governs biological processes t…
https://www.euronews.com/health/2026/05/28/irregular-eating-…
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web search NEUTRAL — The researchers noted that inconsistent meal times can disrupt the body’s metabolic and behavioural rhythms, linked to circadian rhythms – the body’s internal clock that governs biological processes t…
https://nagalandpost.com/the-hidden-link-between-irregular-m…
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Claim 10: “Previous research has shown that irregular eating patterns increase the risk of adverse metabolic outcomes such as obesity, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular disease.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple medical sources (PMC, NIH) confirm that obesity and insulin resistance are linked to cardiovascular disease and metabolic outcomes, supporting the general scientific consensus mentioned in the claim.
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web search NEUTRAL — Insulin resistance promotes dyslipidemia, while obesity-related systemic and vascular inflammation increases the risk of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( ...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12191766/
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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 22, 2021 ... Obesity contributes directly to incident cardiovascular risk factors, including dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and sleep disorders.
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000973
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web search NEUTRAL — The term metabolic syndromedescribes a clustering of risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Its pathophysiology is believed to include insulin ...
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000291652…
verified
Claim 11: “greater dietary diversity was found to reduce the negative effects of erratic eating, whereas skipping breakfast intensified them.”
VERIFIED
Web search results specifically mention that dietary diversity can cushion the effect of sporadic eating while skipping breakfast amplifies it.
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web search NEUTRAL — Dietary diversity can cushion this effect, while regularly skipping breakfast amplifies the connection between sporadic eating schedules and low mood.
https://www.psypost.org/skipping-meals-and-irregular-eating-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Dietary protein consumed at breakfast leads to greater initial and sustained feelings of fullness (increased PYY levels) compared with when it is consumed at lunch or dinner.
https://www.bodaciousnutrition.com/post/is-skipping-breakfas…
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web search NEUTRAL — The most researched aspect of breakfast (and breakfast-skipping) has been its links to obesity. Scientists have different theories as to why there's a relationship between the two.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20181126-is-breakfast-goo…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.