Association Of Meal Timing And Eating Frequency With Body Composition And Cardiometabolic Risk Factors In Overweight/obese Middle-aged Females: A Pilot Study

PURPOSE: Meal timing and eating frequency, as well as nighttime fasting length, may influence cardiometabolic health via modulating circadian rhythms, which are controlled by food consumption. This study aims to investigate the association of meal timing and eating frequency with body composition and cardiometabolic risk factors in overweight/obese middle-aged females. METHODS: Forty-nine overweight/obese middle-aged females (47 ± 6 years old; BMI: 27.3 ± 3.5 kg/m2) participated in this cross-sectional study. The meal timing including eating window (time between first and last caloric intake), time from last food intake to sleep, time from awake to first food intake and eating frequency were evaluated via a seven-day electronic food records. Sleep outcomes were objectively assessed using accelerometry (Actigraph wGt3X-BT). Body composition was determined by bioelectrical impedance analysis, while the waist and hip circumferences were measured by the anthropometric tape. Blood pressure and fasting cardiometabolic risk factors were evaluated. Simple linear regression models were conducted to examine the association between meal timing, eating frequency and other risk factors. RESULTS: The weekend eating window was positively related to waist-hip ratio in the overweight/obese middle-aged females (R2 = 0.235, β = 0.482, p = 0.027). However, meal timing was not associated with other body composition parameters (p > 0.05). The eating frequency was negatively related to HOMA-IR and fasting insulin (R2 = 0.250, β = -0.594, p = 0.004; R2 = 0.242, β = -0.590, p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this pilot study suggest a potential association between weekend eating window and waist-hip ratio, as well as an inverse relationship between eating frequency and insulin resistance in overweight/obese middle-aged females. However, due to the small sample size and the exploratory nature of the study, these conclusions should be interpreted with caution. Future studies are needed to explore the underlying mechanisms and provide evidence-based recommendations for improving health outcomes.