Shrabasti Bhattacharya
TOPLINE:
Eating more than three meals daily, eating earlier, and eating lunch as the largest meal are linked to lower body mass index (BMI) and reduced obesity risk.
METHODOLOGY:
According to recent research in the field of “chrononutrition,” which refers to the circadian pattern of eating behaviors, the timing of eating can affect an individual’s health and obesity.
This exploratory, population-based study looked at the association between the timing of the largest meal of the day and the number of meals per day with BMI and obesity in 2050 nonpregnant adults in Brazil (ages 18-65 years; 15% with BMI ≥ 30; 73% women).
In an online survey, participants reported their weight and height for BMI calculation and filled in questionnaires related to meal timing and frequency as well as diet quality and lifestyle traits.
The 24-hour clock time (hh:mm) averages for the first eating event, lunch, and evening eating event were 8:27, 12:47, and 20:57, respectively, among all the participants.
The median time of the largest meal was 12:38 and was the dividing line to classify people as early-eaters or late-eaters. Overall, lunch was the largest meal for 75% of people, and 75% ate more than three meals a day.
TAKEAWAY:
Compared with participants who had up to three meals a day, those who reported more than three meals a day had a 0.48 lower BMI (P = .04) and lower odds of obesity (odds ratio [OR], 0.68; P = .005).
Eating the largest meal later was associated with higher BMI values (0.07 for each additional hour; P = .03) and higher odds of obesity (OR, 1.04; P = .01).
The group that reported dinner as the largest meal of the day had a 0.85 higher BMI (P = .02) and greater odds of obesity (OR, 1.67; P = .004) than the group that did not have dinner as the largest meal.
On the other hand, having lunch as the main meal appeared to serve as a protective factor with lower odds of obesity (OR, 0.71; P = .01).
IN PRACTICE:
“Late-eaters (individuals who ate their largest meal after 12:38) exhibited several obesogenic and unhealthy behaviors (such as lower diet quality, shorter sleep duration, sedentary lifestyle, and prolonged screen time) that could potentially contribute to long-term weight gain and obesity,” the authors wrote.
SOURCE:
Giovana Longo-Silva, Faculty of Nutrition, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil, led this study, which was published online in Clinical Nutrition ESPEN.
LIMITATIONS:
The study used self-reported questionnaires, which are susceptible to underreporting. The participants included a greater number of highly educated women. The study used food scoring to evaluate the overall quality of each person’s dietary intake and may have missed variations in the distribution of nutrients in meals and in the total amount of energy and nutrients consumed, which could affect the BMI of participants. Despite adjustments for sociodemographic, diet-related, and lifestyle traits, a cross-sectional study cannot distinguish between cause and effect.
DISCLOSURES:
This work was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Alagoas. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
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