Association of meal timing with dietary quality in a Serbian population sample
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
Association of meal timing with dietary quality in a Serbian population sample Zora Djuric1* , Marina Nikolic2,3, Milica Zekovic2, Melissa Plegue1 and Marija Glibetic2
Abstract Background: The world-wide adoption of Western lifestyles and eating patterns is associated with adverse effects on nutrient intakes. Here we evaluated the relationships between timing of meals and diet quality in Serbia, a Balkan country with a traditional eating pattern that includes the largest meal of the day as a late lunch. Methods: A dietary survey was done in the Republic of Serbia using a nationally-representative sample of 74 children and 260 non-pregnant adults. Nutrient intakes were calculated from two 24-h recalls. A Dietary Quality Score (DQS) enumerated how many European Union (EU) Science Hub recommendations were met for fruit and vegetables, fiber, saturated fat, sodium, and sugar. We evaluated whether the timing of dietary intakes is associated with DQS and body mass index. Results: The dietary intakes of children ages 10–17 and adults were similar and were high in total fat intake, with an average of 40% of energy from fat. Mean fruit and vegetable intakes of 473 g/day in adults exceeded the minimal EU recommendation. The most worrisome aspects of the Serbian diet were high intakes of saturated fat, sugar and sodium. Lunch was the meal with the highest mean content of energy, followed by breakfast and dinner, and the average time for lunch was 15:15. Consumption of a higher percentage of calories before 16:00 in adults was associated with higher fruit and vegetable intakes and with higher DQS. The subgroup of adults consuming their largest meal after 20:00 had a lower mean age, more men, and a larger percentage was employed outside of the home. There were no associations of meal timing with BMI, but the prevalence of obesity in this population sample was only 13%. Conclusions: These results indicate that an earlier meal pattern, and especially consuming the largest meal of the day earlier in the day, was associated with better quality diets. Public health efforts are needed to preserve nutrient intakes as the population shifts away from the traditional Serbian eating pattern. Long-term, deterioration of nutrient intakes could contribute to the increasing rates of obesity that have been observed in Serbia and world-wide. Keywords: Nutrition assessment, Serbia, Diet quality, Meal timing, EU recommendations
Background One of the earliest reports describing diet in Serbia came from the Seven Countries study done more than 50 years ago. The Seven Countries study evaluated the relationships between diet and coronary heart disease in men. The Serbian diet was found to be between 8 and 10% * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Department of Family Medicine, Rogel Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1213, USA Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
saturated fat and yet the rate of cardiovascular diseases was low relative to that in other nearb
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