Associations between eating behaviors and muscle strength among Chinese adults: A population-based cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Poor eating behaviors are associated with imbalances in energy and food intake, which may directly or indirectly contribute to muscle strength loss. This study aimed to investigate the association between eating behaviors and muscle strength in Chinese adults. Methods: We designed a cross-sectional study of 2,036 Chinese individuals aged 25–68 years, conducted in 2017. Eating behaviors, including breakfast consumption, snacking after dinner, and eating rate, were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. Muscle strength was determined by grip strength and assessed using a digital grip dynamometer. Results: After final adjustments for confounding factors, grip strength was measured as 35.2 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 34.6–35.8), 36.0 (95%CI: 35.6–36.4), and 36.9 (95%CI: 36.6–37.2) for those who skipped, occasionally ate, and regularly ate breakfast, respectively (p for trend < 0.001). Those who always, sometimes, and seldom snacked after dinner, respectively (p for trend <0.001), reported the following grip strength: 34.6 (95%CI: 33.9–35.2), 36.2 (95%CI: 35.8–36.6), and 36.8 (95%CI: 36.5–37.2). Significant associations were not found between eating rate and grip strength. Conclusions: Present study showed that higher frequency of breakfast consumption and lower frequency of snacking after dinner were associated with better muscle strength in Chinese adults. Therefore, eating behaviors may be involved in muscle function.