Association of nightly fasting duration, meal timing and frequency with the metabolic syndrome among Iranian adults

Accumulative evidence indicates that meal timing is associated with cardiometabolic risks by deteriorating circadian rhythms. However, evidence is unclear. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the relation between nightly fasting duration, meal timing and frequency and metabolic syndrome (MetS) among Iranian adults. Eight hundred fifty adults were recruited in this study. Dietary data were collected by 24-h dietary recalls. Time-related eating patterns were determined as nightly fasting duration, occasions of eating, time and energy proportion of first and last meal and meal frequency on a day. The MetS was recognised on the basis of the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. A binary logistic regression was applied to examine the relation between meal timing and MetS. A significant inverse relation between habitual nightly fasting duration with MetS (OR = 0 center dot 74, 95 % CI 0 center dot 55, 0 center dot 99, P = 0 center dot 04) and 'increased TAG' (OR = 0 center dot 73, 95 % CI 0 center dot 55, 0 center dot 98, P = 0 center dot 03) was found after confounder adjustment. Also, habitual first and last meal energy had no significant connection with MetS. However, the odds of 'increased fasting blood glucose' were lower in subjects who consumed >= 25% of habitual energy intake in the last meal (OR = 0 center dot 60, 95 % CI 0 center dot 42, 0 center dot 85, P = 0 center dot 005). Having longer nightly fasting duration may be useful for decreasing the risk of both MetS and 'elevated TAG'. These findings introduce a new insight that time-related eating patterns, instead of nightly fasting duration alone, might be related to cardiometabolic risks in Iranian adults.

Automated summary

Accumulative evidence suggests that meal timing is associated with cardiometabolic risks by affecting circadian rhythms. However, the evidence is not clear. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the relationship between nightly fasting duration, meal timing, and frequency, and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Iranian adults. The results showed that longer nightly fasting duration was associated with a lower risk of MetS and elevated TAG, while the energy intake of the first and last meal did not have a significant connection with MetS. These findings suggest that time-related eating patterns may play a role in cardiometabolic risks in Iranian adults.