Variable Eating Patterns: A Potential Novel Risk Factor for Systemic Inflammation in Women.

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Chronobiology
• Inflammation Research

Background:

• Eating patterns and their regularity may influence systemic inflammation.
• Circadian clocks, regulating inflammatory signaling, are synchronized by food intake.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between intra-weekly and weekday-weekend eating timing variations and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP).

Main Methods:

• 103 US women completed a meal-timing questionnaire and provided blood samples for hsCRP measurement.
• Eating jetlag metrics (weekday-weekend differences) and intra-weekly variability (SD) in eating timing were calculated.
• Multivariable linear regression analyzed associations between eating timing variability and hsCRP.

Main Results:

• A 30-min difference in weekday-weekend eating end time correlated with 13% higher hsCRP.
• Increased variability in eating end time (SD) was associated with 29% higher hsCRP.
• A 1-hour difference in nightly fasting duration between weekdays and weekends was linked to 45% higher hsCRP.
• Increased variability in nightly fasting duration (SD) was associated with 46% higher hsCRP.

Conclusions:

• Variable eating timing patterns are associated with elevated hsCRP levels.
• Further research and intervention studies are needed to explore stabilizing eating timing as a strategy to reduce chronic inflammation.