Association of chronotype with eating habits and anthropometric measures in a sample of Iranian adults

Abstract

There is a lack of consistency in the literature that shows a relationship between chronotype, habits of eating, and obesity in Iranian adults. This cross-sectional study, was conducted on 850 individuals aged ≥ 18 years, selected from health houses of Tehran, Iran. Chronotype was assessed by Horne and Ostberg Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ). Specific eating habits, including breakfast skipping, intakes of fruits and vegetables, fast food, processed meats, soft drinks, coffee and tea, was assessed by dietary recalls. Weight, height, BMI, waist circumference (WC), waist to hip ratio (WHR), waist to height ratio (WHtR), visceral adiposity index (VAI), body roundness index (BRI) and body adiposity index (BAI) were based on measured values. We used logistic regression to investigate the association between chronotypes and anthropometric measures as well as eating habits. Morning- and intermediate/evening-type chronotypes accounted for 51.4% and 48.6% of the total individuals, respectively. Moreover, intermediate/evening-type chronotypes were shown to have a lower education of diploma (53%), employed (49.9%) and smokers (11.6%) compared to morning-types (both sexes). We found that intermediate/evening-type chronotypes might not be significantly related to higher anthropometric measures and following unhealthy eating habits after controlling for confounders in men and women (all P>0.05). Overall, both anthropometric measures and specific eating habits were not related to chronotype among Iranian adults. Further studies are needed to clarify these relations and to consider sleep disturbances.

Morning Affect, Eveningness, and Amplitude Distinctness: Associations with Sleep Parameters, Eating Habits,Dietary Intakes and Diet Quality of University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…26,27 Studies assessing eating habits and dietary intakes of the individuals according to chronotypes reported conflicting results. 5,[28][29][30] In a study of con-ducted with a sample of Iranian adults, it was indicated that energy intake, dietary intake and eating habits had no relationship with chronotype. 28 Similarly, Yang and Tucker showed that no significant differences in energy and macronutrient intakes, consumption of healthy snack frequency and sugarsweetened beverages or diet quality among chronotypes were indicated.…”

“…5,[28][29][30] In a study of con-ducted with a sample of Iranian adults, it was indicated that energy intake, dietary intake and eating habits had no relationship with chronotype. 28 Similarly, Yang and Tucker showed that no significant differences in energy and macronutrient intakes, consumption of healthy snack frequency and sugarsweetened beverages or diet quality among chronotypes were indicated. 29 However, another studies found that chronotype score was negatively associated with consumption of sweets and vegetables.…”