(P15-010-23) Timing of Intake of Commonly Consumed Foods and Beverages in the US: Analysis of NHANES 2017-2018 Dietary Data

Objectives: Dietary quality differs between individuals with morning or evening diurnal preferences (i.e., chronotype). These differences may be in-part driven by variation in the intake of foods or beverages consumed primarily in the morning (e.g., breakfast foods) or evening (e.g., late-night snacks). However, it remains unknown whether common foods and beverages are consumed at discrete times. The objective of this secondary analysis was to determine the temporality of commonly consumed items in the United States.

Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data from adult individuals 18+ years old from the NHANES 2017-2018 Dietary Data (n=5856). Included participants completed 24-hour dietary recall interviews that were led by trained dietary interviewers. For each reported item, participants estimated portion sizes and the time-of-day. We identified the 100 most reported foods and beverages from the first day of the 24-hour recalls. We visually inspected the timing distribution of each item and categorized the item into morning, mid-day, or evening. Statistical analysis was conducted in R (version 4.2.2).

Results: Through visual inspection of the timing distribution of the top 100 foods and beverages, we identified robust temporality in the consumption of some commonly consumed items in the United States. Items predominantly consumed in the morning included brewed coffee (median (Q1, Q3) time: 08:30 (07:00, 09:36)), pork sausage (09:30 (8:30,11:00)), and oatmeal (08:00 (7:30, 9:30)). Items predominantly consumed at midday included white bread (13:00 (11:00-18:00)), prepackaged/deli ham (13:00 (12:00, 16:30)), and prepackaged/deli turkey (13:00 (12:00, 17:00)). Items predominantly consumed in the evening included beer (18:30 (16:07, 20:00)), vanilla ice cream (19:30 (17:00-21:00)), and red table wine (19:00 (17:30, 20:23)).

Conclusions: Some commonly consumed foods and beverages show strong temporality in their intake. Future studies are needed to assess whether “morning” or “evening” preferred foods and beverages directly contribute to differences in the dietary quality and health outcomes of individuals with morning or evening chronotype.

Funding Sources: N/A