Satchidananda Panda, PhD

The Role of Diurnal Eating Pattern in Determining Healthy Lifespan

When we eat might be as important as what we eat to maintain a long, healthy life. For example, eating in the middle of the night, when our body is trying to repair and rejuvenate, can cause weight gain and disease. By matching our eating habits with our body’s natural biological rhythms, we can potentially decrease our chances of getting illnesses, many age-related, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Circadian—or daily—rhythms in physiology are critical for maintaining the body in balance. Factors that disrupt the circadian clock (e.g., shift work, or jet lag) interrupt this temporal regulation and put individuals at greater risk for metabolic diseases and age-related diseases. As we age, circadian rhythms decline and cause metabolic changes. These observations prompted Dr. Panda to ask whether simple lifestyle interventions that improve daily rhythms can delay the effects of aging. He began testing whether restricting meals to certain times of the day can improve rhythms and prevent or delay diseases of aging.

With this Midcareer award, Dr. Panda will use a novel method for monitoring human eating patterns, and will genetically test whether feeding patterns extend healthy lifespan in insects and vertebrates.