Is it healthy to skip dinner?

Patricia Schutte, nutritionist

The Nutrition Center advises not to skip the evening meal. Skipping dinner may make you hungry and more likely to snack. You also run the risk of not getting enough nutrients.

Skip evening meal

If you regularly skip the evening meal, it is important to keep a close eye on that you are getting enough nutrients. Vegetables, for example, provide many nutrients that are good for you and provide many health benefits. If you skip the evening meal, you will have to eat enough vegetables at another time of the day.

Regularity probably beneficial

There is increasing suspicion that how often we eat, at what time and whether we skip meals can have an effect on our health. Studies done to date indicate that irregular eating patterns are less beneficial for cardio-metabolic health, such as insulin resistance, obesity and high blood pressure. But there is no hard evidence for this yet.

Three meals

We recommend having three meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Possibly supplemented with a maximum of 4 times something in between, such as fruit, unsalted nuts or a whole-wheat sandwich. This also applies if you want to lose weight. Choose a responsible diet where you lose weight slowly and still get all your nutrients.

Do you also have a question? Then ask one of our experts. Always go to your doctor with urgent questions, the experts are not the right person for that. They also do not diagnose. You can find the other conditions here.