Eating patterns of US adults: Meals, snacks, and time of eating

The objective of this paper is to update knowledge of eating patterns of US adults with sex and ethnicity specific estimates and discuss the implications of reported patterns with respect to current resurgence of interest in the topic. The eating patterns data were from the NHANES 2009-2014 (n = 15,341 adults). Overall, American adults reported 4.96 ± 0.03 eating episodes in the recall. Women were more likely to report each of the three main meals and all three meals plus one or more snacks relative to men (P < 0.0001). Relative to other ethnic groups, non-Hispanic blacks were less likely to report each meal or a snack or all three meals, and the foods reported for meals and snacks were higher in energy density (P = 0.0001). Of the three meals, the dinner meal, and among snacks, the after-dinner snack, were reported by the highest percentage of Americans; these two eating episodes provided nearly 45% of the 24-h energy intake. The average dinnertime was 6:24 pm, and the average time of the last eating episode of the 24-h ingestive period was 8:18 pm. Given these findings, adoption of eating patterns that advocate less frequent eating and shift in the time of eating are likely to present a challenge. We know little about the validity of eating patterns determined from 24-h recalls or questionnaire instruments. The extent of within person variability and reporting errors in different eating pattern components also need further research.