Table 3.

Eating occasions, timeframes, and key outcomes of included studies.

Author(s)	Type of Eating Occasion; Timeframe	Study Highlights (Outcome Variables, Results, and/or Background)
Barrington and Beresford [44]	Snacks: Morning: 12:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Mid-day: 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Evening: 4:30 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.	Intake consisted of about 2 main meals, 1 light meal, 1.5 snacks, and 1 drink per day. Morning snacking was associated with increased fruit and vegetable consumption, while evening snacking was associated with higher BMI, higher obesogenic dietary index, and higher percent time eating while distracted. Associations with mid-day snacking were mixed.
Berryman et al. [66]	NR	Protein intake ranged from 4.9 to 16.5 g/day for combined daily snacking occasions. A greater protein consumption during combined snacking occasions was associated with decreased diastolic and systolic blood pressure and cardiovascular disease risk score, and increased HDL-Cholesterol concentrations.
Close et al. [57]	NR	Less healthful eating habits commonly included ≥2 servings/day of refined grain bread and sweet baked goods and candy. Higher frequencies of eating at fast food restaurants are associated with increased odds of eating behaviors that are less healthful independent of demographic characteristics.
Cowan et al. [3]	Meals and/or snacks: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper, brunch, snack, drink.	The number of daily snacking occasions varied in magnitude by the snack definition employed and generally ranged between 1.2 and 3.0 snacks per day. The frequency of snack consumption was highest when a snack was defined as any eating occasion outside of a typical mealtime (snacks + other eating between meals).
Ebel and Byker [56]	NR	Purchases of non-alcoholic beverages, dairy, and “snacks” decreased, while purchases of starchy vegetables, legumes, convenience food, and red and orange vegetables increased > 50%. Prices decreased for fruits (15.5%), “other” vegetables (10.68%), and legumes (9.81%), but increased for “snacks” (11.14%), which had the strongest purchase price.
Grimes et al. [45]	Meals and/or snacks: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, brunch, supper, snack, drink, or extended consumption.	Home breakfast consumers had significantly higher scores for all dietary components, except fatty acids and refined grains, when compared with breakfast skippers. Away-from-home consumers had higher total fruit, whole fruit, seafood and plant proteins, fatty acid, and empty calorie scores than those who skipped breakfast.
Hess et al. [69]	NR	Fruit, selected as a snack by 48% of respondents, was the most popular snack, followed by cookies (44%), chips (33%), and ice cream (33%); milk (21%) and yogurt (14%) were the least frequently consumed snacks. Yogurt, milk, and fruit were the most nutrient-dense snack categories, while ice cream, pies and cakes, and regular carbonated soft drinks were the most nutrient-poor snacks.
House et al. [47]	NR	Frequent eating was classified as averaging more than 4 eating occasions per day, while infrequent eating was classified as averaging less than 3 eating occasions per day. The average number of eating occasions per day was 3.6; the average energy consumed per eating occasion was 580.9 kcal. Infrequent eaters ate 44% less often. They consumed 27% more calories per eating occasion, but 21% fewer calories per day.
Kong et al. [53]	NR	Participants reported a mean of 6 meals/day, including 2.1 snacks/day. A total of 97% of participants reported one or more “snack meal” per day. The most common (76%) snacking period was in the afternoon (2:00 pm to 5:29 pm). Only 19% reported a mid-morning (10:30 am to 11:29 am) snack and almost 30% reported one or more snack meals after 9 pm.
Kuczmarski et al. [46]	NR	Snack consumption contributed to approximately 20% of daily energy intake. Stress and strategies to mitigate stress tended to affect energy consumption from snacks. For example, as a person tried to manage their stress, the person consumed more energy from snacks, at a rate of 5 kcal for each additional unit of stress management effort. Additionally, being male and having less education were associated with consuming more energy from snacks.
Laska et al. [52]	7:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. 12:00 to 5:00 a.m. 5:00 to 11:00 a.m. 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.	A large proportion of eating occasions occurred alone while watching television or engaging in other activities; were completed within a 15 min timeframe; and occurred with virtually no pre-contemplation or planning of food choices or meal selections. At-home eating occasions were associated with higher intakes of certain snacks and convenience foods (such as cookies and sweetened baked goods) and fewer traditional meal items (such as entrées, fruits, and vegetables).
Liu et al. [62]	Classification of snacks: Healthy, unhealthy, and other snack occasions.	On average, participants recorded 6.5 daily eating occasions. Snacks constituted 26% of those daily eating occasions. An average of 1.7 snaking occasions per day was reported, and classified as follows: healthy snack, 0.6; unhealthy snack, 0.8; and other snack, 0.3. The odds of consuming an unhealthy snack were 1.6 times greater for individuals with some college or vocational school compared to individuals who had completed college.
Malaeb et al. [51]	Classification of snacks: High-quality snack: nutrient-dense foods eaten individually. Low-quality snack: high-fat and/or low-nutrient foods eaten individually. Mixed-quality Snack: combination of high-quality and low-quality snack.	Compared to ad libitum food consumption, over a 12-week period, those limited to an 8 h consumption window reported fewer incomplete meals (32.9%). They reported consuming high-quality snacks 23.6% of the time and low-quality snacks 36.6% of the time. On the other hand, those who ate throughout the day reported a lower percentage (18.9%) of low-quality snacks.
McCurley et al. [54]	NR	Breakfast was the most frequently reported skipped meal; 46% of the sample reported skipping breakfast ≥ 1 day per week, whereas 36% skipped lunch and 25% skipped dinner ≥ 1 day per week. Employees who worked nonstandard shifts skipped more meals than employees who worked standard shifts. Skipping dinner ≥ 3 days per week was significantly associated with increases in systolic blood pressure.
Mills et al. [70]	NR	Snacking frequency (which averaged 2.3 times/day), breakfast consumption, and eating after 10 pm did not differ among BMI groups. Daily snacks provided 203 kcal/day (on average), less than dinner and lunch, but more than breakfast. Carbohydrate, dietary fiber, and calcium intakes increased with each additional eating occasion, whereas protein intake was significantly higher in women eating 1–3 times/day than women eating 5, 6, and ≥7 times/day.
Murakami and Livingstone [67]	NR	As meal and/or snack frequency increases, so does the likelihood of overweight or obesity. Most study participants consumed food, as a meal or snack, 3–6 times per day. These eating occasions consisted of 2–4 meals/day and 0.5–3.5 snacks/day.
Murakami and Livingstone [64]	Meals: Breakfast: about 8:00 a.m. Lunch: about 12:30 p.m. Dinner: about 8:20 p.m.	When individually considering the energy percentage, self-reporting, and time was in the range of 1.31 to 1.67 daily snacking frequency. Correlations of snack frequency with eating and energy intake were stronger than with meal frequency. In men, the highest snack frequency was observed in underweight subjects; in women, the highest snack frequency was observed in normal subjects.
Perrigue et al. [50]	NR	Based on average energy intake and frequency of morning eating (8:00 a.m. to noon), among groups of high-frequency or low-frequency eaters, peak food consumption was found to occur at 10:00 a.m. The group of high-frequency eaters also demonstrated a secondary (not as great) fullness peak during this timeframe.
Phan and Chambers [20]	Breakfast: 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. Morning snack: 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. Lunch: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Afternoon snack: 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Dinner: 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Late-night snack: 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.	Snacking is considered a personal eating event. Snacks are often consumed alone, in contrast with meal occasions. Snacks, fruits, and fruit juices were food categories consumed at snack time, regardless of time of day of snack. Nuts and seed products were preferred for mid-morning snacking, while legumes and legume products were preferred for mid-afternoon and late-night snacking, and sweets and fast foods were preferred for late-night snacks.
Phan and Chambers [48]	Meals and/or snacks: Breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, dinner, and late-night snack.	Liking a food was a stronger driver of meal consumption than snack consumption. Convenience was found to be more important for breakfast and lunch than for other eating occasions and was a secondary factor for food choice for all eating occasions. Choosing foods that reflect habits and health concerns was more common for meals than snacks. Need and hunger were core influences of food choice for all eating occasions, except late-night snacking.
Popp et al. [61]	NR	Differences in participant’s eating patterns were noted between weekdays and weekends, with greater irregularity on weekdays. This was particularly true for breakfast consumption, which seemed to coincide with activities such as watching television while being at home. People with obesity or overweight tended to be those who ate over a longer period of time, on weekdays and weekend days.
Reid et al. [68]	Meals and/or snacks: Breakfast: around 9:37 a.m. First meal (snack): around 10:02 a.m. Lunch time: around 1:32 p.m. Dinner: around 7:10 p.m. Last meal (snack): around 9:02 p.m.	The average number of daily eating occasions (meals, snacks) was 4.5. The timing of consumption of the first meal of the day (breakfast/meal 1) was not associated with total caloric intake. In contrast, eating late in day and eating closer to sleep onset was associated with a greater daily caloric intake.
Roe et al. [49]	NR	The amount of food from meals and snacks leftover by adults in their home-based settings varied by time of day and composition of the eating occasion. The percent of leftovers from snacks and meals was estimated as follows: breakfast, 12.90%; morning snack, 33.33%; lunch, 26.14%; afternoon snack, 16.67%; dinner, 28.36%; and evening snack, 0.00%. The percent of leftovers by food type was estimated as follows: vegetables and vegetable products, 19.22%; breakfast cereals, grains, and pasta, 16.25%; and meats and meat products, 16.03%.
Schwedhelm et al. [58]	Peaks of food consumption: 4:00 to 10:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. to midnight	The time windows with the highest contribution to daily energy intake were 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. and 5:00–8:00 p.m., with nearly a third of the daily energy intake within each time window. An additional eating occasion was associated with an additional 161.6 kcal during pregnancy and an additional 146.4 kcal postpartum.
Shimizu et al. [63]	NR	Participants in the meal-cue condition were more likely to report that the food they ate was a meal than those in the snack-cue condition. Meal-cue participants’ actual caloric intake was significantly greater (M = 531.79) than snack-cue participants’ (M = 416.39).
Taetzsch et al. [60]	Meals and/or snacks when consuming ≥ 20 kcal.	The average daily eating interval was 11.6 h; 35.6% of the sample demonstrated a time-restricted eating pattern, 38.4% were early energy eaters, and 37.8% were bedtime eaters. Shorter daily eating intervals of 1 h, restricting daily eating to an 11 h interval, or not eating within 2 h of bedtime was associated with a decrease of 53, 140, and 235 kcal/day, respectively.
Thomas et al. [59]	NR	Four food shopping behaviors were identified: Diverse consumers (47.98%): no specific style; value-loyal consumers (16.48%): price conscious, habitual, brand and store loyal; shopping avoidance; emotional consumers (21.75%): confused by overchoice; impulsive, careless; high-conscious consumers (13.43%): perfectionists, high-quality, brand, environmental, local brand, convenience and time–energy conserving.
Wansink et al. [71]	NR	For environmental cues, eating with family is the strongest indicator of a meal, whereas standing was the strongest indicator of a snack. The profile of a snack involves eating alone for 10 min while standing, using paper plates and napkins. For food cues, low-quality food was most strongly associated with snack perceptions. The food profile of a snack is inexpensive, low-quality food in small portions that was packaged and unhealthy.
Wansink et al. [55]	Classification of snacks: Healthy: contains low amounts of fat, cholesterol, and sodium. Unhealthy: contains high amounts of fat, cholesterol, and sodium. Other	Among students, purchases of healthy snacks decreased over fall semester but increased over the spring semester by 4% in the final two weeks. Within semesters, unhealthy snack food choices increased significantly by about 0.4% each week. Furthermore, a sharp (8%) increase occurred in the final two weeks of the semester.
Xu et al. [65]	Classification of snacks by frequency: 0, 1, 2, 3, and ≥4 times per day.	Participants who snacked more frequently tended to be younger, consume ≥3 meals per day, and have comorbidities, a faster gait speed, and less energy from meals. Both higher snacking frequency and percentage of energy intake from snacking were positively associated with a faster gait speed.
Zizza et al. [10]	Snacks: Snack, beverage, merienda, entre comida, botana, bocadillo, tentempie, and bebida.	A total of 97.3% of participants snacked at least once during a 2-day food intake assessment, and the average number of snacks was 2.1 per day. The contribution to daily vitamin totals from snacking ranged from 9.9% for vitamin B-12 to 16.0% for vitamin E. Snacking contributed 8.8% and 4.9% of the daily intake of beta carotene and lycopene, respectively. Among minerals, the contribution to daily mineral totals from snacking ranged from 18.0% for calcium to 9.4% for selenium.