Combined eating behaviors and overweight: Eating quickly, late evening meals, and skipping breakfast

• Combined effect of three major eating behaviors on being overweight was studied.
• Eating quickly was significantly and independently associated with being overweight.
• Skipping breakfast was not significantly associated with being overweight.
• Eating late evening meals was not independently associated with being overweight.
• Eating quickly combined with other eating behaviors further impacted being overweight.

ObjectiveVarious eating behaviors have been linked with body weight management. However, combined effects of major eating behaviors are not fully understood. This study aimed to clarify the association of the combination of eating quickly (EQ), late evening meals (LEM), and skipping breakfast (SB) with being overweight.MethodA cross-sectional study with standardized questions for EQ, LEM, and SB was conducted. Stratified random sampling of 5% of residents aged 20 to 80 years was surveyed in a city in northeast Japan in 2011, and 4249 (84.9%) residents were analyzed. Association of combinations of eating behaviors on being overweight (BMI (kg/m2 ≥ 25.0)) was estimated by using logistic analysis, and odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidential interval were calculated after adjustment for potential covariates.ResultsLEM, SB, or a combination of LEM and SB was not significantly associated with being overweight. However, the combination of EQ or only EQ was significantly associated with being overweight. As the number of eating behavior practices increased, there was a linear increase in OR for being overweight. The OR of all three combined eating behaviors was higher than that of any combined two behaviors or of each behavior.DiscussionThis study result supports the evidence that EQ increases the risk of being overweight whether by itself or in combinations with LEM and/or SB. However, only LEM or only SB did not increase the risk of being overweight.