Abstract
BackgroundEvidence suggests that eating patterns, including meal skipping and snacking, may impact health outcomes such as obesity and other chronic diseases. However, why people adopt such eating patterns is poorly understood.Objectives and Study DesignWe conducted one‐on‐one semi‐structured interviews about daily eating and other routines among a convenience sample of 20 employees at a community health center in Lake County, IN.ResultsParticipants were aged ≥18 y and mostly African American females. Breakfast was the most commonly skipped meal, followed by lunch and dinner (80%, 60% and 5% of the sample, respectively). In addition, 95% of participants reported ever snacking, and 75% snacked at work or during the day whenever hungry. Only 25% of the sample planned when to eat, and Chi‐square tests indicated this lack of planning may have been related to snacking or skipping breakfast. All participants reported their eating patterns differed on weekends compared to weekdays, with 35% having more time to eat and 30% having different timing of meals on weekends. Overall, being too busy or not having enough time to eat were suggested to be major factors influencing eating patterns.ConclusionNot planning an eating schedule may associate with meal skipping and snacking, and hunger may also relate to snacking. Further investigation about how time management influences eating patterns is needed.Funding: Purdue.
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