15-Year Trends in the Patterns of Meal Timing and Eating Frequency Among US Adults

Abstract

ObjectivesTo characterize trends in meal timing and frequency in US population age > 19 years. MethodsWe performed a serial cross-sectional analysis of 8 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) cycles (2003–2018) on 34,470 adults (52.5% women and 21% black). Time of food and beverage intake was extracted from two 24-hour food recalls. The following meal timing measures were defined: 1) The time of the last and first calorie intake either from food or drink, 2) Eating window: The time elapsed between the first and last food intake, 3) Nighttime fasting duration: The time between last and first food intake, 4) Calorie midpoint time: The time when half of the calories for the day were consumed, 5) Late night eating: Consumption of ≥33% of total daily energy between 5:00 pm and midnight, and 6) Eating frequency: Frequency of food or beverage consumption >0 kcal which were >15 minutes apart. Population means for these variables were estimated for each cycle and survey-weighted linear regression was used to assess annual changes in meal timing and frequency over 15 years. ResultsFrom 2003 to 2018, survey-weighted mean (±SE) of eating window decreased from 12.21 ± 0.06 to 12.02 ± 0.05 hours/d in both men and women (Ptrend = 0.002). Time of the last calorie intake significantly decreased from 20.31 ± 0.04 to 20.09 ± 0.03 hours/d, while the time of first calorie intake and eating frequency remained unchanged. More than two-third of participants consumed ≥ 33% of total daily energy after 5:00 pm. Over the 15-year span, composition of diet also changed, including a decline in total calorie intake (from 2178.5 ± 18.4 to 2089.0 ± 21.2 kcal/d) and percentage of energy from carbohydrate intake (from 49.0 ± 0.4 to 46.4 ± 0.3%), while percentage of energy from dietary fats increased (from 34.0 ± 0.4 to 36.5 ± 0.2%), Ptrend < 0.05. ConclusionsDietary intake of US adults has shifted to a lower % of calories from carbohydrates and a higher % from fat and a shorter eating time window. Caloric intake continues to be concentrated late in the day. These patterns are hypothesized to influence cardiometabolic health. Funding SourcesSamaneh Farsijani was supported by the K01 Career Development Award from the NIA (K01 AG071855-01A1) and the Pittsburgh Older Americans Independence Center (P30AG024827). Ziling Mao was supported by R01 AG059416 as a Graduate Student Researcher (GSR).