The timing of food intake has been associated with obesity and adverse metabolic outcomes, independently of the amount or content of food intake and activity level. However, the impact of the variability in the timing of food intake between weekends and weekdays on BMI (body mass index) remains unexplored. To address that, we propose to study a marker of the variability of meal timing on weekends versus weekdays (denominated as ‘eating jet lag’) that could be associated with increments in BMI. This cross-sectional study included 1106 subjects (aged 18–25 years). Linear regression models were used to examine the associations of eating jet lag with BMI and circadian related variables (including chronotype, eating duration, sleep duration, and social jet lag). Subsequently, a hierarchical multivariate regression analysis was conducted to determine whether the association of eating jet lag with BMI was independent of potentially confounding variables (e.g., chronotype and social jet lag). Moreover, restricted cubic splines were calculated to study the shape of the association between eating jet lag and BMI. Our results revealed a positive association between eating jet lag and BMI (p = 0.008), which was independent of the chronotype and social jet lag. Further analysis revealed the threshold of eating jet lag was of 3.5 h or more, from which the BMI could significantly increase. These results provided evidence of the suitability of the eating jet lag, as a marker of the variability in meal timing between weekends and weekdays, for the study of the influence of meal timing on obesity. In a long run, the reduction of the variability between meal timing on weekends versus weekdays could be included as part of food timing guidelines for the prevention of obesity among general population.

Summary Chia seeds were utilized by Aztecs as food and for medicinal purposes. Nowadays, this crop is gaining importance in many countries, due to its nutritional attributes. Some physical properties and chemical characteristics of chia seeds from four different regions of Mexico were evaluated and compared. Seed size distribution was not significantly affected (P > 0.05) by the region, with similar values of seed length (2.03–2.10 mm), width (1.27–1.32 mm), thickness (0.77–0.81 mm) and surface area (4.95–5.42 mm2). Bulk density (662–741 kg m−3), geometry and granulometric distribution were also determined. Origin of tested seeds significantly (P < 0.05) influenced their composition; all seeds had high contents of protein (18.5–22.3%), fat (21.5–32.7%) and fibre (20.1–36.1%). Chia seeds ratio between omega‐3 and omega‐6 fatty acids was 3:1 for the studied regions; seeds from Chiapas and Michoacán had the highest proportion of ω‐6 and ω‐3 fatty acids. The studied seeds contained phenolic compounds in the range of 0.53–0.71 mg GAE g−1.

AbstractIntroductionUnderstanding health behaviors, such as sleep and dietary patterns, is important for health promotion and disease prevention. College period is a complicated, difficult time to maintain healthy behaviors. In this regard, little is known about the impact of sleep and diet quality on well-being among college young adults. Hence, we aimed to study the impact of sleep and diet quality on well-being in college students.Materials and MethodsThree hundred-twelve Mexican college students (82% females; 20.6 ± 3.4years) were included in a cross-sectional study. Participants completed the following validated questionnaires: Well-being Index to assess well-being (high scores indicate high well-being), Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index for sleep quality (scores > 5 indicate poor sleep quality), and a validate version of the Health Eating Index for Mexican population to assess diet quality (scores > 80 indicate good diet quality). BMI and physical activity were also assessed. Scores were treated as continuous variables, and statistical analysis were performed using SPSS v24 and adjusted for confounding variables.ResultsSixty-seven percent of our population showed a poor sleep quality and eighty-four percent needs to make changes in their diet in order to improve its quality. On the other hand, fifty-one percent of the studied population had a low well-being perception. Poor sleep quality (p < 0.001) and low diet quality (p < 0.001) associated with a lower well-being perception. In addition, poor sleep quality is associated with low diet quality (p < 0.05). Regarding food consumption, higher sweets (p < 0.001) and soft-drink (p < 0.001) intake was inversely associated with well-being scores. Likewise, high consumption of sweets (p < 0.05) and soft-drink (p < 0.05), and low fruit (p < 0.05) and cereal (p < 0.05) consumption are linked to poor sleep quality.DiscussionOur results show that half of the studied population had a low well-being, and also that poor sleep and diet quality are frequent among college students. Interestingly, the fact that poor sleep and diet quality were associated to a lower perception of well-being highlights the importance of promoting sleep hygiene and diet quality among college students as an important strategy to improve well-being and health, even in young adults. In addition, we found that higher sweets and soft-drink consumption were associated to both low well-being perception and poor sleep quality. Hence, it is important to promote healthy habits regarding eating and sleeping well, in order to improve well-being perception among college students.

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