Table 5.
Summary of the main results of studies that did not find an association between eating frequency and body weight or body composition (n 10)
| Study | Quality score (%) | Outcome | Exposure assessment | Exposure classification | Confounders | Results | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gigante et al. (1997)( 42 ) | 89·5 | Obesity: BMI≥30·0 kg/m2 | No. of meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Assessment: meal pattern questionnaire | ≤3 v. 4–6 meals | Logistic regression model adjusted for sex, age, race, marital status, education, income, occupational status, self-rated health, PA, smoking, alcohol intake, parental overweight status, parity and morbidities | Men and women <3 v. 4–6 meals, OR (95 % CI): 0·8 (0·4, 1·7) | |
| Karatzi et al. (2015)( 29 ) | 89·5 | BMI (kg/m2) and WC (cm): continuous variables | No. of meals: food or drink Assessment: 3 d food record | Continuous variable | Multiple linear regression model adjusted for age, intakes of carbohydrates and fat, and EI | BMI (kg/m2), one-meal increase: β=−0·01 (95 % CI −0·01, +0·01) WC (cm), one-meal increase: β=−0·01 (95 % CI −0·01, +0·01) | |
| Kant et al. (1995)( 15 ) | 85·7 | Weight (kg): continuous variable | Total no. of meals: main meals and snacks Assessment: 1971: 1×24 h dietary recall 1982: simple question | Continuous variable | Multiple linear regression model adjusted for age, education, race, baseline BMI, length of follow-up, smoking, alcohol intake, PA, parity, morbidity and EI | Men β=0·08 (se 0·13) P=0·52 | Women β=0·2299 (se 0·15) P=0·13 |
| Kim et al. (2014)( 14 ) | 84·2 | BMI (kg/m2) and WC (cm): continuous variables | No. of meals Assessment: simple question | ≤2 v. 3 v. 4 v. ≥5 meals | General linear model without adjustments | WC (cm), mean (sd): ≤2 meals: 79·9 (0·6) 3 meals: 81·2 (0·3) 4 meals: 80·7 (0·3) ≥5 meals: 79·5 (0·4) P=0·007 BMI (kg/m2), mean (sd): ≤2 meals: 23·4 (0·2) 3 meals: 23·6 (0·1) 4 meals: 23·6 (0·1) ≥5 meals 23·3 (0·1) P=0·212 | |
| Mills et al. (2011)( 40 ) | 78·9 | Overweight: BMI≥25·0–29·9 kg/m2 Obesity: BMI≥30·0 kg/m2 Self-reported | Total no. of meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack Assessment: 1 d food record | Continuous variable | Logistic regression model adjusted for age, income, marital status, race, education, menopausal status and EI Energy misreporting was defined based on EI:BMR | Men and women Meals Normal v. overweight/obesity, OR (95 % CI): 0·9 (0·7, 1·2) Snacking Normal v. overweight/obesity, OR (95 % CI): 1·0 (0·7, 1·2) | |
| Berg et al. (2009)( 31 ) | 73·7 | Reference: BMI<30·0 kg/m2 Obesity: BMI ≥ 30·0 kg/m2 | Total no. of meals (1–8): morning coffee, breakfast, between-meal snack, lunch, between-meal snack, dinner, supper and night meal Assessment: self-administered meal pattern questionnaire | Continuous variable | Logistic regression model adjusted for sex, age, smoking and PA | Men and women Reference v. obesity, OR (95 % CI): 0·9 (0·9, 1·0) | |
| Teichmann et al. (2006)( 39 ) | 73·7 | Obesity: BMI≥30·0 kg/m2 | Total no. of meals: main meals and snacks Assessment: simple question | 1–2 v. 3 meals 1–2 v. 4 meals 1–2 v. ≤5 meals | Poisson regression model adjusted for sex, age, race, marital status, education, income, occupational status, self-rated health, PA, smoking, alcohol intake, parental overweight status, parity and morbidities | Women Obesity, PR (95 % CI): 1–2 meals: 1·0 (ref.) 3 meals: 1·7 (0·9, 3·2) 4 meals: 1·3 (CI 0·7, 2·5) ≤5 meals: 0·9 (0·5, 1·8) | |
| Pearcey and de Castro (2002)( 27 ) | 63·2 | Weight-gaining: a weight gain of >5 % during the previous 6 months Weight-stable: a weight gain of <5 % during the previous 6 months | Total no. of meals: main meals and snacks Assessment: 7 d food record | Continuous variable | Student’s t test without adjustments | Men and women Weight-stable group, mean (se): 3·30 (0·14) P<0·05 Weight-gaining group, mean (se): 3·52 (0·13) P<0·05 | |
| Amosa et al. (2001)( 37 ) | 57·9 | Obesity: BMI ≥30·0 kg/m2 | Total no. of meals in the seven records: breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks Assessment: 7 d food record | Continuous variable | Mann–Whitney test without adjustments | European women Meals, median (range): Non-obese: 31 (20–40) Obese: 29 (13–39) P>0·05 | Polynesian women Meals, median (range): Non-obese: 31 (17–58) Obese: 28 (17–53) P>0·05 |
| Al-Isa et al. (1999)( 41 ) | 42·1 | Non-obesity: BMI≤25·0 kg/m2 Obesity I: BMI=25·0–30·0 kg/m2 Obesity II: BMI≥30·0 kg/m2 | No. of the main meals: 1, 2 or 3 Assessment: simple question | 1 v. 2 v. 3 meals | Logistic regression model adjusted for sex, age, marital status, obesity among parents, parents’ education, parents’ occupation, dieting, last dental or physical check-up, education, number of male, female and total siblings, college major, number of obese relatives, number of people residing at home, number of servants, birth order, countries prefer visiting, family income, chronic disease, PA and eating between meals | Men and women P>0·05 | |
WC, waist circumference; PA, physical activity; EI, energy intake; β, linear regression coefficient; PR: prevalence ratio; ref., reference category.