Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The relationship between eating frequency and body fatness was tested in a population sample.
DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey on cardiovascular risk factors and a nutritional survey were carried out from June 1996 to April 1997.
SUBJECTS: Population sample of 330 free-living middle-aged men (45–64 y).
MEASUREMENTS: Body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and nutritional survey (3-day record).
RESULTS: In the whole sample, BMI and WHR decreased significantly (P<0.05) along with the increase of the number of eating occasions. When low energy records were excluded, the trend for BMI and WHR according to eating categories remained significant. For WHR, averages were 0.98, 0.95, 0.94 and 0.93 for 1–2, 3, 4 or 5 or more feedings a day, respectively. For BMI, mean values were 28.1, 26.2, 26.2 and 24.5 kg/m2, respectively. After adjustment for confounders (total energy intake or macronutrients, age, educational level, smoking habits, physical activity and restrained diet), the linear trend for BMI and WHR throughout feeding categories was significant when the whole sample was considered. This relationship remained similar when low energy records or when dieters were excluded.
CONCLUSION: These results suggest that for an isoenergetic intake the increase of eating frequency is associated with lower body fatness.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
Purchase on Springer Link
Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Maillard G, Charles MA, Thibult N, Forhan A, Sermet C, Basdevant A, Eschwege E . Trends in the prevalence of obesity in the French adult population between 1980 and 1991 Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1999 23: 389–394.
Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Kuczmarski RJ, Johnson CL . Overweight and obesity in the United States: prevalence and trends, 1960–1994 Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1998 22: 39–47.
Pietinen P, Vartiainen E, Mannisto S . Trends in body mass index and obesity among adults in Finland from 1972 to 1992 Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1996 20: 114–120.
Kuulasmaa K, Tunstall-Pedoe H, Dobson A, Fortmann S, Sans S, Tolonen H, Evans A, Ferrario M, Tuomilehto J . Estimation of contribution of changes in classic risk factors to trends in coronary-event rates across the WHO MONICA Project populations Lancet 2000 355: 675–687.
Bellisle F, McDevitt R, Prentice AM . Meal frequency and energy balance Br J Nutr 1997 77 (Suppl 1): S57–70.
Gatenby SJ . Eating frequency: methodological and dietary aspects Br J Nutr 1997 77 (Suppl 1): S7–20.
Edelstein SL, Barrett-Connor EL, Wingard DL, Cohn BA . Increased meal frequency associated with decreased cholesterol concentrations; Rancho Bernardo, CA, 1984–1987 Am J Clin Nutr 1992 55: 664–669.
Kant AK, Schatzkin A, Graubard BI, Ballard-Barbash R . Frequency of eating occasions and weight change in the NHANES I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1995 19: 468–474.
Drummond SE, Crombie NE, Cursiter MC, Kirk TR . Evidence that eating frequency is inversely related to body weight status in male, but not female, non-obese adults reporting valid dietary intakes Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1998 22: 105–112.
Titan SM, Bingham S, Welch A, Luben R, Oakes S, Day N, Khaw KT . Frequency of eating and concentrations of serum cholesterol in the Norfolk population of the European prospective investigation into cancer (EPIC-Norfolk): cross sectional study Br Med J 2001 323: 1286–1288.
Evans AE, Ruidavets JB, McCrum EE, Cambou JP, McClean R, Douste-Blazy P, McMaster D, Bingham A, Patterson CC, Richard JL, Mathewson ZM, Cambien F . Autres pays, autres coeurs? Dietary patterns, risk factors and ischaemic heart disease in Belfast and Toulouse Q J Med 1995 88: 469–477.
Renaud S, Attier NC . La composition des aliments INSERM: Paris 1986.
Répertoire général des aliments. Table de composition REGAL Inra/Tec et Doc: Paris 1997.
Goldberg GR, Black AE, Jebb SA, Cole TJ, Murgatroyd PR, Coward WA, Prentice AM . Critical evaluation of energy intake data using fundamental principles of energy physiology: 1. Derivation of cut-off limits to identify under-recording Eur J Clin Nutr 1991 45: 569–581.
Schofield WN . Predicting basal metabolic rate, new standards and review of previous work Hum Nutr Clin Nutr 1985 39 (Suppl 1): 5–41.
SAS Institute Inc. SAS/STAT user's guide: the GLM procedure. Release 6.03 edn SAS Institute Inc.: Cary, NC 1990.
Marques-Vidal P, Ruidavets JB, Cambou JP, MD, Ferrières J . Trends in overweight and obesity in middle-aged subjects from Southwestern France, 1985–1997 Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2002 26: 732–734.
Black AE, Goldberg GR, Jebb SA, Livingstone MB, Cole TJ, Prentice AM . Critical evaluation of energy intake data using fundamental principles of energy physiology: 2. Evaluating the results of published surveys Eur J Clin Nutr 1991 45: 583–599.
Rogers PJ . Interrelationships between feeding patterns and obesity in humans Proceedings of the 1st European Congress on Obesity Stockholm 1988.
Summerbell CD, Moody RC, Shanks J, Stock MJ, Geissler C . Relationship between feeding pattern and body mass index in 220 free-living people in four age groups Eur J Clin Nutr 1996 50: 513–519.
Barrett-Connor E . Nutrition epidemiology: how do we know what they ate? Am J Clin Nutr 1991 54 (1 Suppl): 182S–187S.
Nelson LH, Tucker LA . Diet composition related to body fat in a multivariate study of 203 men J Am Diet Assoc 1996 96: 771–777.
Hill JO, Melanson EL, Wyatt HT . Dietary fat intake and regulation of energy balance: implications for obesity J Nutr 2000 130 (2S Suppl): 284S–288S.
Bolton-Smith C, Woodward M . Dietary composition and fat to sugar ratios in relation to obesity Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1994 18: 820–828.
Bray GA, Popkin BM . Dietary fat intake does affect obesity! Am J Clin Nutr 1998 68: 1157–1173.
George V, Tremblay A, Despres JP, Leblanc C, Bouchard C . Effect of dietary fat content on total and regional adiposity in men and women Int J Obes 1990 14: 1085–1094.
Larson DE, Hunter GR, Williams MJ, Kekes-Szabo T, Nyikos I, Goran MI . Dietary fat in relation to body fat and intraabdominal adipose tissue: a cross-sectional analysis Am J Clin Nutr 1996 64: 677–684.
Fabry P, Tepperman J . Meal frequency—a possible factor in human pathology Am J Clin Nutr 1970 23: 1059–1068.
Jenkins DJ, Wolever TM, Vuksan V, Brighenti F, Cunnane SC, Rao AV, Jenkins AL, Buckley G, Patten R, Singer W et al. Nibbling versus gorging: metabolic advantages of increased meal frequency New Engl J Med 1989 321: 929–934.
Juhel C, Pafumi Y, Senft M, Lafont H, Lairon D . Chronically gorging v. nibbling fat and cholesterol increases postprandial lipaemia and atheroma deposition in the New Zealand white rabbit Br J Nutr 2000 83: 549–559.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ruidavets, J., Bongard, V., Bataille, V. et al. Eating frequency and body fatness in middle-aged men. Int J Obes 26, 1476–1483 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802143
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802143
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
The role of energy intake and energy misreporting in the associations between eating patterns and adiposity
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2018)
-
Nutritional quality of meals and snacks assessed by the Food Standards Agency nutrient profiling system in relation to overall diet quality, body mass index, and waist circumference in British adults
Nutrition Journal (2017)
-
Eating frequency is inversely associated with blood pressure and hypertension in Korean adults: analysis of the Third Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2014)
-
Eating frequency in relation to body mass index and waist circumference in British adults
International Journal of Obesity (2014)
-
Effects of Manipulating Eating Frequency During a Behavioral Weight Loss Intervention: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
Obesity (2012)