Daily eating frequency is associated with diet quality and weight status in US adults

Few studies have reported eating frequencies in relation to diet quality and weight status. Using 24h diet‐recall, anthropometric and socio‐demographic data of US adults (≥20y, n=4544 excluding pregnant/lactating women and diabetics) in NHANES 2007–8, we examined the association between daily eating frequencies (1–3, 4, 5, 6 and ≥7), diet quality (HEI 2005), and weight status (BMI ≥25). With SAS 9.3 (Cary, NC), we accounted for the complex survey design and sample weights in detecting the differences, trends and associations among the variables and/or subgroups by covariate‐adjusted logistic regressions and linear regression analyses. Mean eating frequencies were similar between men and women (5.0 and 5.3, respectively) with increasing frequencies from 20y to 65y (p<0.05). Eating frequencies were positively associated with diet quality in both genders, with some variations among age subgroups within a gender (p<0.05); and inversely associated with mean BMI and the prevalence of individuals with BMI ≥25 in women (p=0.06), but not in men. Findings from this cross‐sectional survey suggest that, although the degree of strength differs among age/gender groups, eating frequency is an indicator of diet quality and weight status in US adults. Grant Funding Source : Nestle USA