Table 3.
Mean values for cardiovascular risk factors adjusted for age, obesity, cigarette smoking, physical activity, alcohol intake, and caloric intake with analysis of variance by reported daily eating frequency in men and women aged 45-75, EPIC-Norfolk 1993-7
| Eating frequency (No of times a day)
|
P value* | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 or 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 or more | ||
| Men | (n=353) | (n=2176) | (n=2525) | (n=1211) | (n=625) | |
| Cholesterol (mmol/l) | 6.11 | 6.06 | 5.98 | 5.94 | 5.94 | <0.01 |
| LDL cholesterol (mmol/l) | 4.06 | 3.98 | 3.91 | 3.86 | 3.86 | <0.001 |
| HDL cholesterol (mmol/l) | 1.24 | 1.24 | 1.23 | 1.22 | 1.22 | 0.42 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2)* | 26.2 | 26.5 | 26.4 | 26.1 | 26.1 | 0.02 |
| Waist:hip ratio† | 0.93 | 0.926 | 0.925 | 0.928 | 0.925 | 0.67 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 136.0 | 136.1 | 135.3 | 135.8 | 137.7 | 0.01 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 84.3 | 84.0 | 83.4 | 83.8 | 85.2 | <0.01 |
| Women | (n=362) | (n=2182) | (n=2877) | (n=1511) | (n=844) | |
| Cholesterol (mmol/l) | 6.26 | 6.25 | 6.19 | 6.12 | 6.08 | <0.001 |
| LDL cholesterol (mmol/l) | 4.00 | 3.97 | 3.95 | 3.90 | 3.85 | 0.02 |
| HDL cholesterol (mmol/l) | 1.57 | 1.60 | 1.56 | 1.55 | 1.56 | <0.01 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2)* | 25.5 | 25.9 | 26.0 | 25.8 | 26.1 | 0.03 |
| Waist:hip ratio† | 0.793 | 0.787 | 0.784 | 0.784 | 0.784 | 0.03 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 130.6 | 131.3 | 131.8 | 131.6 | 132.1 | 0.48 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 79.3 | 80.0 | 80.2 | 80.1 | 80.6 | 0.29 |
LDL=low density lipoprotein; HDL=high density lipoprotein.
*
Adjusted for all variables except body mass index.
†
Adjusted for all variables except waist:hip ratio.