Meal skipping linked to increased visceral adipose tissue and triglycerides in overweight minority youth

Abstract

ObjectiveTo investigate the impact of eating frequency on dietary intake, physical activity (PA), metabolic, and adiposity measures in minority youth.Design and MethodsThis analysis included 185 overweight (≥85th BMI percentile) Hispanic and African American youth (8–18 years) with the following cross-sectional measures: height, weight, BMI, dietary intake, body composition, metabolic parameters, PA, visceral adipose tissue (VAT), and subcutaneous adipose tissue. Each eating occasion (EO) was defined as ≥50 calories and ≥15 minutes from any previous EO. Participants were dichotomized based on EOs per 24-h into meal skippers <3 EO (MS; n=27) or normal/frequent eaters ≥3 EO (NFE; n=158). ANCOVAs were used to assess dietary intakes, metabolic outcomes, adiposity, and PA between eating frequency groups.ResultsMS compared to NFE consumed 24% fewer calories per 24-h (p≤0.01), 21% more calories per EO (p≤0.01), ate 40% less often (p≤0.01), had 18% higher triglycerides (p=0.03), and 26% more VAT (p=0.03), with no differences in PA.ConclusionsAlthough meal skipping was associated with decreased energy intake, it was linked to increased calories per EO and higher triglycerides and VAT, which are strong indicators of deleterious metabolic profiles. These findings elucidate that meal skipping may be associated with increased VAT and related metabolic diseases in high-risk minority youth.

Decreased eating frequency linked to increased visceral adipose tissue, body fat, and BMI in Hispanic college freshmen

“…Previous studies have found infrequent eating to be associated with higher circulating triglycerides [13,14]. Infrequent eaters also consistently show an increased caloric intake per EO, and binge eating behaviors have been previously linked to increased triglycerides [14,47].…”

“…This definition was selected because it has been cited within the eating frequency literature most often [10][11][12][13][14], thus allowing us to compare our results with previous eating frequency research. Frequent eating was classified as averaging more than 4 EOs per day, while infrequent eating was classified as averaging less than 3 EOs per day.…”

“…To date, the majority of epidemiology studies have shown an inverse association between eating frequency and adiposity [13][14][15][16][17][18][19], while a few studies have found no relationship or an inverse association [20][21][22]. A longitudinal study by Ritchie et al [15], with 2372 African American and Caucasian girls (9-19 y), found that lower meal frequency was related to greater increases in BMI and waist circumference over a ten year period, independent of socioeconomic status, total energy intake, and physical activity levels.…”

“…To date, the majority of epidemiology studies have shown an inverse association between eating frequency and adiposity [13][14][15][16][17][18][19], while a few studies have found no relationship or a positive association [20][21][22]. Previous research has shown that infrequent eating is linked to increased visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and obesity risk, as well as blunted insulin action, and deleterious lipid parameters in multiple populations of overweight Hispanic youth (8-18 y) [13,14].…”

“…Previous research has shown that infrequent eating is linked to increased visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and obesity risk, as well as blunted insulin action, and deleterious lipid parameters in multiple populations of overweight Hispanic youth (8-18 y) [13,14]. Among minorities, Hispanics tend to have high amounts of VAT, and VAT is a strong indicator of deleterious metabolic profiles, such as dyslipidemia and glucose intolerance [23].…”