Eating patterns and dietary composition in relation to BMI in younger and older adults

Abstract

Objective: To compare relative associations of eating patterns and dietary composition with body mass index (BMI) in younger (aged 20-59 years, n ¼ 1792) and older (aged 60-90 years, n ¼ 893) participants in the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals, collected 1994Individuals, collected -1996. Methods: Data from two 24-h dietary recalls from individuals reporting physiologically plausible energy intake (within 722% of predicted energy requirements, based on previously published methods) were used. Results: Mean reported energy intake was 96 and 95% of predicted energy requirements in younger and older subjects, respectively. Older subjects were less likely than younger subjects to skip a meal, but snacking was common in both age groups. Fiber density was significantly higher in the older group. A higher BMI in both age groups was associated with a higher total daily energy intake, and higher energy intakes at all eating occasions. In both age groups, eating frequency was positively associated with energy intake, and eating more than three times a day was associated with being overweight or obese. In the younger group but not the older group, a lower fiber density coupled with higher percentage of energy from fat was independently associated with having a higher BMI. Conclusions: While no one eating occasion contributes more than any other to excess adiposity, eating more often than three times a day may play a role in overweight and obesity in both younger and older persons. A reduced satiety response to dietary fiber in addition to lower energy expenditure may potentially further contribute to weight gain in older persons.

Adherence to a snacking dietary pattern and soda intake are related to the development of adiposity: a prospective study in school-age children

“…We noted that the definition of snacking varied across studies, which might contribute to the incongruence of study findings. Some studies defined snacking in terms of frequency of consumption (31)(32)(33)(34)(35) , while others treated the variable as the sum of total daily servings of snack food items (8,9) . Additionally, because the quality of Table 3 Mean annual change in indicators of adiposity according to soda intake*: children (n 961) aged 5-12 years, Bogotá , Colombia *Estimated mean values with their standard errors and unadjusted differences are from mixed-effects linear regression models with the adiposity measure as the outcome and predictors that included indicator variables for soda intake categories, age in decimal years, and soda intake categories 3 age interaction terms.…”

Associations between meal and snack frequency and diet quality and adiposity measures in British adults: findings from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey

“…Many epidemiological studies have investigated the association between eating frequency (EF) and adiposity measures, but the results are highly inconsistent with a mixture of inverse (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7) , null (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13) and positive (14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20) associations. The associations between EF and food and nutrient intakes are equally inconclusive (2,6,7,15,(21)(22)(23) .…”

Food choices and health during military service: increases in sugar- and fibre-containing foods and changes in anthropometric and clinical risk factors

“…An inverse association between fibre density and BMI has been reported elsewhere too (49) . Differences in quality of diet exist already among men entering military service (30) .…”