Nutrition/Obesity
Temporal Dietary Patterns and Dietary Quality in Older Adults in the US Tuo Lan* Tuo Lan
Background: Although when we eat is as important as what we eat to maintain good health, not much is known about what types of “temporal” dietary patterns exist in a population.
Objective: To identify the temporal dietary patterns (TDPs) that incorporate timing and frequency of eating occasions and examine their associations with diet quality in older adults.
Methods: Adults (mean age = 63 y, n=883) in the Interactive Diet and Activity Tracking in AARP (IDATA) Study completed six 24-hr recalls using ASA24 over 12 months. TDPs based on energy intake were identified by a two-stage hierarchical clustering method that integrates optimal transport and the dynamic time warping distances. Diet quality was assessed by the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015 based on adherence to dietary guidelines for Americans. The analysis of covariance was used to examine mean HEI score by temporal dietary patterns, adjusting for sex, age, race/ethnicity, and BMI.
Results: Four TDPs were identified: morning-to-evening (44.7%), evening-to-night (30.0%), uniform (21.4%) and early morning eating patterns (3.9%, Figure). Individuals with the evening-to-night eating pattern tended to be younger, male, overweight or obese, and have a higher daily energy intake (2151 vs mean=2067 kcal/day), while those with early morning eating tended to be older, non-White. People with a uniform eating pattern tended to have a shorter eating duration (12.4 hours vs mean=13.2 hours) and lower eating frequency (4.2 vs mean=5.2 times/day). Diet quality differed by TDPs (P<0.001). Evening-to-night eating pattern had the lowest HEI-2015 score (mean=58 out of 100), whereas a uniform eating pattern had the highest HEI-2015 score (mean = 62.7). HEI-2015 scores for morning-to-evening and early-morning patterns were 60.6 and 61.9, respectively.
Conclusions: Diet quality is affected by what people eat but also by when they eat.
