Researchers from City University of New York tracked more than 34,000 Americans aged over 40 for several decades.
Participants recorded eating times and scientists matched these with death rates over the course of the study.
The results, published in the Journal of Nutrition, showed those breakfasting between 6am and 7am were six percent less likely to die prematurely from major illnesses such as heart disease or cancer than those who regularly had breakfast at 8am, and 12 percent less at risk of early death than others who first ate at 10am.
Researchers also noted that those who ate breakfast later showed the body gradually making less insulin and increasing blood glucose levels– leading to diabetes, obesity and heart disease.