Although regular meal timings are recommended for weight loss, no study has characterised irregularity in the timing of eating occasions or investigated associations with body-mass index (BMI). Here, we characterise "chaotic eating" as the tendency to eat at variable times of day. In two studies, we used a novel measure to explore the relationship between BMI and chaotic eating. In Study 1 (N = 98) we measured BMI and used a self-report measure to assess the usual range of times that meals and snacks are consumed over a seven-day period, as well as meal and snack frequency. A separate meal and snack 'chaotic eating index' was derived from the number of possible thirty-minute snack- or meal-slots, divided by the frequency of these eating events. After adjusting for age, gender, and dietary habits (Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire) we found no relationship between BMI and chaotic eating of meals (β = -0.07, p = 0.73) or snacks (β = -0.10, p = 0.75). In Study 2, we calculated the same chaotic eating index (meals and snacks) using data from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey of adults 2000-2001 (seven-day diet diaries; N = 1175). Again, we found little evidence that BMI is associated with chaotic eating of meals (β = 0.16, p = 0.27) or snacks (β = 0.15, p = 0.12). Together, these results suggest that irregular eating timings do not promote weight gain and they challenge guidelines that recommend regularity in meal timings for weight loss.
Keywords: BMI; Chaotic eating; Irregular eating; Meal timings; Obesity.
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