Seasonal variation in food intake, physical activity, and body weight in a predominantly overweight population

Abstract

Objective-To describe seasonal variation in food intake, physical activity, and body weight in a predominantly overweight population. Design-A longitudinal observational study.Setting-Most of the study participants were recruited from a health maintenance organization (HMO) in central Massachusetts, USA. Additional individuals of Hispanic descent were recruited from outside of the HMO population to increase the ethnic diversity of this sample.Subjects-Data from 593 participants, aged 20-70, were used for this investigation. Each participant was followed quarterly (five sampling points: baseline and four consecutive quarters) for 1-year period. Body weight measurements and three 24-h dietary and physical activity recalls were obtained on randomly selected days (including 2 weekdays and 1 weekend day) per quarter. Sinusoidal regression models were used to estimate peak-to-trough amplitude and phase of the peaks.Results-Daily caloric intake was higher by 86 kcal/day during the fall compared to the spring. Percentage of calories from carbohydrate, fat and saturated fat showed slight seasonal variation, with a peak in the spring for carbohydrate and in the fall for total fat and saturated fat intake. The lowest physical activity level was observed in the winter and the highest in the spring. Body weight varied by about 1/2 kg throughout the year, with a peak in the winter (P<0.001 winter versus summer). Greater seasonal variation was observed in subjects who were male, middle aged, nonwhite, and less educated.Conclusions-Although there is seasonal variation in diet, physical activity and body weight, the magnitude of the change is generally small in this population.

Diet composition of pregnant Finnish women: changes over time and across seasons

“…Neither did we observe significant seasonal fluctuations in the proportion of energy derived from protein, which is in agreement with findings from previous reports (29,(32)(33)(34) . Earlier studies have, however, reported seasonal differences in the intake of fat, with the highest intakes occurring during winter (30,31) , spring (12,31) and autumn (32) . We observed that the proportion of energy derived from total fat exhibited seasonal changes was highest in the summer, this being the result of the holiday season and the dietary changes mentioned earlier.…”

Licorice Flavonoid Oil Effects Body Weight Loss by Reduction of Body Fat Mass in Overweight Subjects

“…In the present study, which was conducted during the period from fall to winter, the observed average body weight increase in the placebo group could be attributed to the generally known seasonal variation in body weight as reported by other researchers. [20][21][22] Similar results were obtained from BMI data (Fig. 1B).…”

Low-carbohydrate and high-fat intake among adult patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus

“…Nutrient scores, such as total energy in kilo-calories and carbohydrate intake, and percentage of energy from fat and carbohydrate were computed from the data collected from the 7DDR. GI, a measurement of carbohydrate quality, was determined from the 7DDR using published tables [21,22]; GL (GI of a food times the amount of carbohydrate eaten divided by 100) was also calculated, as has been previously reported by our group [23,24]. The 7DDR also included a brief validated physical activity assessment described elsewhere [25,26].…”