Eating frequency, energy intake and body weight during a successful weight loss trial in overweight and obese postpartum women

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: To examine associations among eating frequency, energy intake and body weight at baseline, as well as associations among change in eating frequency and change in energy intake and weight during a 12-week successful weight loss intervention in overweight and obese postpartum women. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Sixty-one Swedish women with pre-pregnancy body mass index of 25-35 kg/m(2) completed a 4-day diet record at 10-14 weeks postpartum (baseline) and 12 weeks later (post-intervention), which were used to calculate energy intake and eating frequency, that is, the mean number of intake occasions per day. RESULTS: The women had a mean eating frequency of 5.9 +/- 1.2 intake occasions at baseline. A positive association was found between eating frequency and energy intake at baseline (beta: 307 +/- 46 kcal, P<0.001), whereas no significant association between eating frequency and weight was observed (beta: 2.3 +/- 1.2 kg, P = 0.063). During the intervention period, reduced eating frequency was positively associated with energy intake reduction (beta: 169 +/- 69 kcal, P = 0.017) whereas no significant association was found with weight loss (beta: 0.9 +/- 0.7 kg, P = 0.179). Women receiving dietary intervention reduced their eating frequency more during the intervention period than did women not receiving dietary intervention (-1.0 +/- 0.7 vs -0.5 +/- 1.1, P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A positive association was found between eating frequency and energy intake at baseline and between reduced eating frequency and reduced energy intake during a 12-week weight loss intervention in overweight and obese postpartum women. Intervention studies on eating frequency are warranted to elucidate its effect on energy intake and weight among postpartum women.