The Next Big Habit After "Veg First"? The Future of Food Unveiled by Chrononutrition

Dentsu Inc. has launched 'Healthcare Trend Forecast 50,' an information tool that predicts 50 key trends (futures) to watch in the healthcare market from a mid-term perspective, enabling their use for new business ideation and product/service development.

This tool extracts five trends from the megatrends generally predicted to occur, which are expected to have a particularly significant impact on the healthcare market. It forecasts what currents are likely to emerge in the healthcare market under the influence of each megatrend.


This series picks out themes from these 50 healthcare trends that deserve special attention. We invite leading experts in each field as guest speakers to explore the future in greater depth.

The theme for the fourth installment is the future outlook for "Circadian Rhythms and Chrononutrition." Research on circadian rhythms by American scientists won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2017, bringing circadian rhythms and chrononutrition into the spotlight in recent years. It is predicted that these concepts will permeate our daily lives, leading to an increase in related products and services. We welcomed Professor Emeritus Shigenobu Shibata of Waseda University, a leading authority on chrononutrition in Japan, as our guest. Ms. Wanqing Jiang of the Dentsu Inc. Healthcare Team discussed the current state and future of chrononutrition.

<Table of Contents>
▼The Era Where "When You Eat" Determines Your Health

▼Applying Chrononutrition to Elderly Care Services

▼An Environment Conducive to Accumulating Evidence Holds Clues for Social Implementation

▼Toward a Society Where Even Meal Timing Can Be Individually Optimized

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The Era Where "When You Eat" Determines Your Health

Kyo: Our Dentsu Inc. Healthcare team developed "Healthcare Trend Forecast 50," an information tool predicting future healthcare domains. Based on various megatrends, we assess potential changes in the health sector. Among these, we highlight "chrononutrition" as one future prediction.

Shibata: I first started using the term "chrononutrition" in 2013. Around the same time, the Japanese Society for Chrononutrition was established, and we've been engaged in various scientific research projects. In 2017, research on the body clock won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, gradually bringing more attention to the field. When I ask participants at lectures if they've heard of chrononutrition, only about 10% raised their hands initially, but I feel that number has been steadily increasing lately.

Jiang: I feel interest will continue to grow, partly because the dietary approach is so familiar to our daily lives and easy to put into practice. However, I also think there are hurdles to utilizing it in business. Today, I'd like to hear your thoughts on that aspect as well.

Shibata: First, regarding the term "chrononutrition" itself, the Japanese word "time" (時間) is somewhat ambiguous. It can mean "time of day" (e.g., "what time") or "duration" (e.g., "one hour has passed"). But what we're really conveying here is "time of day" – the importance of meal timing.

This concept has two perspectives. One is that our internal clock influences meal timing. For example, even with the same meal content, insulin secretion and blood sugar trends differ between morning and night. In the morning, blood sugar rises but stabilizes quickly. At night, it tends to persist, making it easier for the excess to be stored as fat.

The other perspective is that meal timing itself influences the body clock. Our internal clock actually has a rhythm that is 15 to 30 minutes longer than a precise 24-hour cycle. Without adjustment, it would gradually drift each day. That's why exposure to morning light acts as a reset switch for the brain, helping to calibrate the body clock.

If we consider this the "master clock," the "subordinate clocks" found in organs like the liver and pancreas also need similar adjustment. Eating breakfast is essential for this. Morning light resets the master clock, while breakfast resets the subordinate clocks. Only when both are in sync does "morning" truly begin for both body and mind.

Kou: I see, so eating a proper breakfast is crucial.

Shibata: Exactly. Skipping breakfast prevents the subsidiary clocks from resetting, and it's said your internal clock can lag by 1 to 1.5 hours. Even though your brain recognizes "it's morning" from the light, your liver, pancreas, and other internal organs remain in a "still nighttime" state. This contributes to presenteeism—like feeling "my brain isn't working in the first class" at school, or being "spaced out all morning" at work.

Kyo: I've had similar experiences myself, both during my student days and after entering the workforce. I'd rush out of the house without breakfast and start studying or working, only to find my performance in the morning just wouldn't pick up. It might have been because of skipping meals.

Shibata: That's right. But since it's something you do every day, forcing yourself won't last. That's precisely why you need "ways to incorporate it into your daily routine without strain." For someone who loves eating fried chicken for dinner, resisting that might be difficult. Instead, eat three pieces out of five, save the remaining two for the next morning's treat, and use them for your morning protein intake. Just this change can reduce the burden on your body.

Older adults often lack protein, but when their appetite wanes, getting enough daily becomes tough. So instead of every meal, focus on getting ample protein just at breakfast, and keep dinner light—maybe just ochazuke. These "small adjustments" can really add up to daily health-building.

Ginger: In fact, our 2024 "Wellness 10,000 Survey" showed that 65.9% of respondents—over half—said, "Even if something is good for health, I won't force myself or endure discomfort." Additionally, 47.6% emphasized, "If I do something for health, I prioritize efficiency."

Shibata: So, it's better to make suggestions that are easy to stick with and make people want to try them.

Jiang: The same survey also asked about dietary habits. Since eating is a daily activity, major effort or restraint isn't sustainable. However, over 70% of women and more than half of men practice "not eating/limiting meals after 10 PM."

Shibata: Eating quickly is deeply linked to obesity and diabetes risk, and the order of eating also holds significant meaning from a blood sugar control perspective. Trying to do everything perfectly won't last, but just being mindful of a few things can make a big difference in future health. In chrononutrition too, I think we can find many "sustainable strategies" .

Applying Chrononutrition to Senior Care Services

Jiang: Chrononutrition aligns well with consumers' health awareness and holds promise for business applications. What specific solutions or use cases exist? Could you share some examples from your experience?

Shibata: We collaborated with a company providing meal services to special nursing homes and other facilities nationwide. For three months, we implemented an intervention targeting malnutrition among facility residents by offering menus incorporating nutritional intake strategies tailored to the specific times of day: morning, noon, and evening.

The result? The average weight of residents in these elderly care facilities, who typically experience gradual weight loss, increased by 0.9 kilograms over the three months. This outcome was evaluated as highly significant, and the approach is now being rolled out to other facilities.

Jiang: What specific menu changes were proposed?

Shibata: We primarily focused on increasing protein and soluble fiber intake in the morning. Elderly individuals tend to consume insufficient amounts of both protein and soluble fiber. Ensuring adequate intake of these nutrients at breakfast supports better nutrient absorption and improves gut health. Furthermore, research shows that fats found in fish, such as DHA and EPA, are actually absorbed more efficiently when consumed in the morning.

Jiang: So the timing of the day affects ingredient selection too. Any other examples?

Shibata: Companies promoting tomato juice in the morning is an interesting initiative. Lycopene is an antioxidant component, and because it's fat-soluble, its absorption is indeed considered better in the morning. Consuming lycopene in the morning can help protect the body from daytime UV rays and oxidative stress.

When I ask at lectures, "When do you drink tomato juice?", I surprisingly often hear, "I drink it before bed at night." But that timing is a bit of a waste for its antioxidant benefits. Drinking it in the morning is considered preferable, as it helps mitigate damage received during the day.

Kou: So the effectiveness of the same ingredient changes depending on the timing, right?

S hibata: Exactly. Recently, tomato juice with enhanced GABA content has also been developed. Since GABA is believed to help alleviate stress and improve sleep quality, drinking this type is actually better suited for evenings when you want to relax. In other words, even with the same tomato juice, the recommended time of consumption changes based on the characteristics of its components. Leveraging these chrononutrition mechanisms can make both corporate product design and consumer choices more effective, right?

An environment conducive to accumulating evidence offers hints for societal implementation

Ginger: On the other hand, it seems like there aren't that many cases where chrononutrition is being effectively utilized yet. What challenges lie behind this?

Shibata: The biggest challenge remains "insufficient evidence." For chrononutrition, there are still few human intervention studies, with much research limited to basic studies or mouse experiments. For example, while "taking protein in the morning is beneficial" is becoming somewhat known, scientific backing for other nutrients and timing is still not fully established.

Furthermore, Japan has very strict restrictions on functional claims for foods. In contrast, in the US and Europe, supplements can be labeled as "morning use" or "evening use," making the intended purpose easier for consumers to understand compared to Japan.

Kou: Precisely because it involves daily, everyday meals, we need to commit to it over the medium to long term and observe the progress, right?

Shibata: That's right. Settings like hospitals or senior care facilities, where meals are provided and managed, naturally accumulate more data and evidence. Especially in places like hospitals or special nursing homes, residents start eating at healthy times from the moment they arrive—breakfast at 8 AM, dinner at 6 PM. Even without consciously practicing "mini-fasting" or "chrononutrition," residents follow eating patterns aligned with their internal clocks. These settings provide excellent models for implementing chrononutrition in society .

Toward a society where even meal timing can be individually optimized

Jiang: Regarding the business application of chrononutrition, could you share your vision for future concrete developments and implementation?

Shibata: The concept of "personalized nutrition" is gaining significant attention lately. As lifestyles and body types vary from person to person, advancements in AI and IT are making it increasingly possible to provide services tailored to individual behaviors and characteristics. However, even though I use a smartwatch myself, while it can track exercise and sleep, it's still quite challenging to accurately record meal timing and content.

Jiang: It seems like a high hurdle to digitize "when, what, and how" people eat.

Shibata: An example I often use is "how to support the health of someone who loves ramen." For someone who absolutely must have ramen once a week, is it better to eat it at lunch? Or is it acceptable if eaten early in the evening? I think it would be convenient to have an app that supports such decisions, taking into account the individual's lifestyle, past eating habits, and even their stress levels. For example, "Right now, this nearby ramen shop is open at just the right time. You can even use a coupon!" That's the kind of notification I envision. I look forward to a future where such technological advancements integrate more naturally into our lives.

Alternatively, if we could infer what meals were prepared for breakfast or dinner, and what was eaten at what times, based on fridge contents or purchase history, it would improve the accuracy of lifestyle tracking. While recording eating out is difficult, if home cooking is the mainstay, it should be possible to grasp dietary habits with a certain degree of accuracy.

Kou: Indeed, if there were a way to record this without manual input, it would likely catch on.

Shibata: In the medical field, there's also movement to incorporate chrononutrition concepts into specific health guidance programs, often in collaboration with health insurance associations. For example, integrating appropriate intake timing into guidelines for conditions like metabolic syndrome, diabetes, hypertension, or CKD (chronic kidney disease) could significantly enhance the quality of treatment and prevention. Simply adjusting timing—like having a richer meal at lunch but a lower-sodium dinner—might reduce the burden on patients.

I understand that measuring muscle mass poses challenges in care facilities. However, if technologies like body composition analyzers that can measure muscle mass without burdening the elderly—even while they remain in wheelchairs—are developed, the principles of chrononutrition could also be applied to frailty countermeasures.

Jiang: It's clear that as chrononutrition integrates with various societal systems, it will gain greater influence in the future.

Shibata: Advances in smartphones and sensor technology are bringing us into an era where we can track individual dietary habits. In the future, services suggesting optimal meal timing based on daily schedules and physical condition might become commonplace. I believe administrative and medical guidelines will need to evolve flexibly to keep pace with these changes. I hope that as chrononutrition principles become societal standards, healthier and more sustainable lifestyles will become widespread.

Jiang: Nurturing individual health and societal well-being while supporting daily life. Chrononutrition holds the potential to play an increasingly vital role in shaping this future.

For instance, "vegetable first" was once a novel concept and behavior that garnered attention. Through awareness campaigns by governments and companies, and its implementation in products, menus, and promotions, it has now become an established habit for many consumers. Chrononutrition, too, has the potential to gradually spread throughout society in a similar way.

By embedding this concept at the core of product and service design, companies could make the perspective of "consuming ingredients and nutrients at the most efficient time for effectiveness" the new standard in health awareness.

Chrononutrition is both a scientific foundation for health and a new option for individuals to engage with food "effortlessly and authentically." We hope this concept reaches more people, paving the way toward a future where each person can proactively and enjoyably choose their daily meals. Thank you for your time today.

※Frailty: A state where functional capacity and reserve abilities decline with aging, increasing vulnerability to health issues. It refers to a condition between "healthy" and "requiring nursing care."