Late eating and shortened fasting are associated with higher ultra-processed food intake across all age groups: a...

Global dietary patterns are increasingly driven by ultra-processed foods-cheap, highly palatable, and ready-to-eat options. Exploring time-related eating patterns and its association with ultra-processed foods could help in intervention efforts, but knowledge on this topic is still limited. This study assessed the association of time-related eating patterns with unprocessed/minimally processed and ultra-processed food consumption across different life stages.

Two 24-hour food recalls from a nationally representative sample in Brazil (Brazilian Household Budget Survey, POF, 2017-2018; n = 46,164) were used to estimate tertiles of first and last intake times, eating midpoint, caloric midpoint time, and night fasting (independent variables). All consumed foods were classified according to the Nova classification system, and the outcomes of interest were consumption of unprocessed/minimally processed and ultra-processed foods. Multiple linear regression models were performed for all individuals and stratified for each age group: adolescents (10-19 years, n = 8,469), adults (20-59 years, n = 29,332), and older individuals (≥ 60 years, n = 8,322).

The later tertile of first food intake time, last food intake time, caloric midpoint, and eating midpoint were positively associated with consumption of ultra-processed foods (β = 3.69, 95%CI = 3.04, 4.34; β = 1.89, 95%CI = 1.32, 2.47; β = 5.20, 95%CI = 4.60, 5.81; β = 3.10, 95%CI = 2.49, 3.71, respectively) and negatively associated with consumption of unprocessed or minimally processed foods (β=-2.79, 95%CI=-3.37; -2.22; β=-1.65, 95%CI=-2.24, -1.05; β=-3.94, 95%CI=-4.44, -3.44; β=- 2.35, 95%CI=-2.93, -1.78, respectively) compared to the first "earlier" tertile (reference). An inverse association was found for night fasting (β=-1.74, 95%CI=-2.28, -1.22 and β = 1.52, 95%CI = 0.98, 2.06 for ultra-processed and unprocessed/minimally processed foods, respectively). These associations were consistent across all age groups.

Chrononutrition patterns characterized by late intake timing and shortened overnight fasting were associated with higher consumption of ultra-processed foods and lower intake of unprocessed/minimally processed foods across all age groups.