Meal patterns in obese and normal weight men: the 'Gustaf' study

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Obesity Research
• Dietary Behavior Analysis

Background:

• Understanding meal patterns is crucial for obesity research.
• Previous studies suggest potential differences in eating behaviors between obese and normal weight individuals.
• This study investigates specific dietary patterns in adult men.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare reported meal patterns between obese and normal weight men.
• To analyze the contribution of different food intake types to daily energy intake (EI).
• To examine the circadian distribution of EI and the number of reported intakes.

Main Methods:

• A dietary survey using 12 repeated telephone-administered 24-hour dietary recalls.
• Study conducted over three months, including all seven days of the week.
• Participants included 86 obese men (BMI 37.7 ± 4.4 kg/m²) and 61 normal weight men (BMI 23.0 ± 1.9 kg/m²), aged 20-60.

Main Results:

• Meal patterns were similar between obese and normal weight men.
• Cooked meals, sandwich meals, snacks, and breakfast-like meals were major contributors to EI in both groups.
• Circadian eating patterns were also similar; obese men reported a median of 5.3 intakes/day versus 5.6 in controls (P=0.02).
• A significant proportion of obese men (73%) were identified as under-reporters of energy intake compared to normal weight men (28%).

Conclusions:

• No specific "obese eating style" was detected.
• Reported meal timing and composition do not significantly differentiate obese from normal weight men.
• Differences in energy intake reporting accuracy exist, but eating patterns remain comparable.