Eating time variation from weekdays to weekends and its association with dietary intake and BMI in different chronotypes: findings from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017–2018

Abstract

Abstract Evidence suggests that differences in meal timing between weekends and weekdays can disrupt the body’s circadian rhythm, leading to a higher BMI. We aimed to investigate the associations between mealtime variation from weekdays to weekends (eating midpoint jetlag), dietary intake and anthropometric parameters, based on individuals’ chronotype. The study utilised data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017–2018. Food consumption was estimated by weighted average of participants’ food intake on weekdays and weekends. Eating midpoint jetlag, defined as the difference between the midpoint of the first and last mealtimes on weekends and weekdays, was calculated. Chronotype was assessed by participants’ mid-sleep time on weekends, adjusted for sleep debt. Linear regression analysis was conducted to investigate the associations between variables. The sample was categorised into chronotype tertiles. Among individuals in the third chronotype tertile, there was a positive association between eating midpoint jetlag and BMI (β = 1·2; 95 % CI (1·13, 1·27)). Individuals in the first tertile showed a positive association between eating midpoint jetlag and energy (β = 96·9; 95 % CI (92·9, 101·7)), carbohydrate (β = 11·96; 95 % CI (11·2, 12·6)), fat (β = 3·69; 95 % CI (3·4, 3·8)), cholesterol (β = 32·75; 95 % CI (30·9, 34·6)) and sugar (β = 8·84; 95 % CI (8·3, 9·3)) intake on weekends. Among individuals with an evening tendency, delaying meals on weekends appears to be linked to a higher BMI. Conversely, among individuals with a morning tendency, eating meals later on weekends is associated with higher energetic intake on weekends.