Why early dinners are back on the table for health-conscious Indians

In January, American influencer Kristen Fischer, who has moved to Delhi, complained about the one cultural adjustment she is having a tough time with — no food at dinner parties till 11pm. “In India, the conversation is before the meal and in America, the conversation is after the meal,” she posted on Instagram. There are even threads on Reddit titled: ‘Why do Indians eat dinner so goddamn late?’ The good news: this trend is slowly but steadily changing. The after-10 crowd is reducing at restaurants, and many are turning up at social events having eaten dinner at home to keep their late-night cravings in check.

While some of them are part of a rising tribe of intermittent fasters (IF) aka time-restricted eaters, others are simply realising the importance of meal timings. In fact, there is a new buzzword for it — chrono nutrition or the science of how circadian rhythms (the body’s 24-hour cycles), nutrition, and health interact.