Abstract P218: Eating Frequency, Breakfast Consumption, and Abdominal Obesity Among Adults Living in Puerto Rico

Abstract

Background: Puerto Rican adults have a high burden of obesity, but little information is available regarding eating frequency and breakfast consumption in this at-risk ethnic minority group. Thus, we examined the association between eating frequency, breakfast consumption, and abdominal obesity among adults living in Puerto Rico. Methods: In a cross-sectional study of adults living in Puerto Rico aged 30-75 years old (n=310) were asked to self-report eating frequency, including snacks. Trained interviewers measured waist (WC) and hip circumferences. We calculated the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) by dividing the waist by the hip measurement. Abdominal obesity was defined as either high WC (men≥94 cm; women≥80 cm) or high WHR (men≥0.90; women≥0.85), using International Diabetes Federation cutoffs. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) of having abdominal obesity by frequency of meals (≤1.5; 1.5-3; ≥3 times/d) and for breakfast consumers (vs. non) were estimated using logistic regression models. We adjusted for age, sex, income, smoking status, physical activity, TV watching, energy intake, diet quality, and eating frequency (only for breakfast consumption). Results: The majority of the participants consumed breakfast (70%), ate 1.5-3 times/d (47%), had high WC (75%), and had high WHR (77%). Higher frequency of eating was associated with higher WC after adjustment for confounders. Compared with participants who ate ≤1.5 times/d, those who ate 1.5-3 times/d were more likely to have a higher WC (OR: 2.75, 95% CI: 1.23, 6.15) and those who ate ≥3 times/d were more likely to have an increased WC (OR: 2.88; 95%CI: 1.14, 7.31; P-trend=0.04). Breakfast consumption was not significantly associated with abdominal obesity. Conclusions: Higher frequency of eating, but not breakfast consumption by itself, was significantly associated with abdominal obesity. Our study denotes which eating behaviors may be more relevant for abdominal adiposity among a high-risk ethnic group.