Weekly variation in diet and physical activity among 4–75-year-old Danes

Abstract

Objective: To compare dietary intake and physical activity (PA) between days of the week in a large sample of the Danish population; furthermore, to investigate the influence of gender and age as determinants for weekly variation. Design: Analysis was based on cross-sectional data from the Danish National Survey of Diet and Physical Activity 2011-2013. Dietary intake and PA were assessed by 7 d of pre-coded food diaries and pedometer-determined step counts. Dietary intake and PA on weekdays (Monday-Thursday), Friday, and weekend days (Saturday and Sunday) were compared using linear mixed models. Setting: Survey with national representation, conducted in Denmark between 2011 and 2013. Participants: A random sample of 4-75-year-old Danes, n 3934 and n 3530 in analysis of dietary intake and PA, respectively. Results: Energy intake during Friday and weekend days was 7-20 % higher compared with weekdays, while step counts were 10 and 17 % lower on Saturday and Sunday, respectively (all P < 0·001). Energy density of liquids and solids, consumption of added sugar, alcohol, discretionary foods, beer, wine and sugar-sweetened beverages were substantially higher, and consumption of dietary fibre, vegetables, fruit and wholegrain products were lower, during Friday and weekend days compared with weekdays (all P < 0·001). The observed patterns were present across gender and age, although weekly variation was most pronounced among children and relatively modest among the elderly. Conclusions: Weekend health behaviours of Danes display less favourable eating and PA behaviour compared with weekdays, making the weekend an important target for public health interventions aiming to improve dietary intake and PA behaviour.

Weekly variation in markers of cardiometabolic health – the possible effect of weekend behavior – a cross-sectional study

“…Similar findings have recently been confirmed in a nationwide Danish study where lower PA and dietary quality was reported in the weekends compared to the weekdays. The weekly variation appeared large especially among the younger individuals, whereas gender differences were modest [18]. Interesting, though, other studies previously conducted in Danish children have indicated that gender differences in PA levels might be more noticeable during the weekdays as compared to the weekends [36,37].…”

“…Studies have shown that children's health related behavior varies from weekday to weekend. At weekends, children tend to be more sedentary, sleep less, be less physically active, consume more sugar-sweetened beverages and have higher total energy intake when compared to weekdays [16][17][18][19].…”

Plate Waste Generated by Spanish Households and Out-of-Home Consumption: Results from the ANIBES Study

“…Although PW variations between weekdays and weekends remain mostly unknown, former studies investigating weekly variation in dietary intakes have generally found less-healthy eating behavior during the weekend. Namely, larger intakes of total energy, fats, added sugars, different discretionary foods, and alcohol have been consistently observed over the weekend, in studies assessing dietary habits from Western populations [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. It should also be acknowledged that, during working days, most people consume their main meal outside, in restaurants, or in their workplace, and that institutional kitchens might be more effective in calculating the right serving size of a dish, so a higher quantity of PW over these days might be related to potential time constraints of participants to finish their meals.…”

Reducing Young Schoolchildren’s Intake of Sugar-Rich Food and Drinks: Study Protocol and Intervention Design for “Are You Too Sweet?” A Multicomponent 3.5-Month Cluster Randomised Family-Based Intervention Study

“…A Danish qualitative study showed that although parents are well aware of the consequences of eating large amounts of discretionary food, there is great uncertainty as to how much discretionary food is too much [ 18 ]. Further, there is great variation between intake of discretionary food during weekdays and weekends, with an intake during weekends exceeding recommendations substantially, i.e., an intake of 14 E% added sugar on average for 4–13 year-old Danish children on Friday and Saturday [ 19 ].…”