SynthesisPublic health nutrition2017
Eating frequency and weight and body composition: a systematic review of observational studies.
Synthesis in Public health nutrition, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The effects of eating frequency on changes in body composition and cardiometabolic health in adults: a systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized trials.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2023Pooled it
- Medical Nutrition Therapy Interventions Provided by Dietitians for Adult Overweight and Obesity Management: An Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Evidence-Based Practice Guideline.Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · 2023Guideline
- Impact of Meal Frequency on Anthropometric Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2020Pooled it
- Article
- Obesity and its management in primary care setting.Journal of diabetes and its complications · 2025Review
- Chrononutrition behaviors in relation to diet quality and obesity: do dietary assessment methods and energy intake misreporting matter?Nutrition journal · 2025Article
- Impact of Meal Frequency on Insulin Resistance in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study.Diabetes & metabolism journal · 2025Article
- The association between chrononutrition behaviors and muscle health among older adults: The study of muscle, mobility and aging.Aging cell · 2024Article
- Meal patterns, including intermittent fasting - a scoping review for Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023.Food & nutrition research · 2024Article
- Systematic review of prospective studies assessing risk factors to predict anorexia nervosa onset.Journal of eating disorders · 2023Review
- The Risks and Consequences of Skipping Meals for Low-income Mothers.Population research and policy review · 2022Article
- Dietary Intake and Nutritional Status in Young and Middle-Aged Adults according to the Meal Frequency from the Korea National Health and Nutritional Survey.Korean journal of family medicine · 2022Article
- Eating patterns in a nationwide sample of Japanese aged 1-79 years from MINNADE study: eating frequency, clock time for eating, time spent on eating and variability of eating patterns.Public health nutrition · 2022Article
- Association of dietary patterns, number of daily meals and anthropometric measures in women in age of menopause.Archives of endocrinology and metabolism · 2021Article
- Eating frequency and weight status in Portuguese children aged 3-9 years: results from the cross-sectional National Food, Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey 2015-2016.Public health nutrition · 2019Article
- Mobile Phone App for Self-Monitoring of Eating Rhythm: Field Experiment.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2019Article
- The Prevalence of Underweight, Overweight/Obesity and Their Related Lifestyle Factors in Indonesia, 2014-2015.AIMS public health · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThe present review aimed to examine the association of eating frequency with body weight or body composition in adults of both sexes.
designPubMed, EMBASE and Scopus databases were searched. PRISMA and MOOSE protocols were followed. Observational studies published up to August 2016 were included. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed with the Downs and Black checklist.
settingA systematic review of the literature. SUBJECTS: Adults (n 136 052); the majority of studies were developed in the USA and Europe.
resultsThirty-one articles were included in the review: two prospective and twenty-nine cross-sectional studies. Thirteen per cent of the studies received quality scores above 80 %. The assessment of eating frequency and body composition or body weight varied widely across the studies. Potential confounders were included in 73 % of the studies. Fourteen studies reported an inverse association between eating frequency and body weight or body composition, and seven studies found a positive association. The majority of studies applied multiple analyses adjusted for potential confounders, such as sex, age, education, income, smoking, physical activity and alcohol intake. Six studies took into account under-reporting of eating frequency and/or energy intake in the analysis, and one investigated the mediation effect of energy intake.
conclusionsThere is not sufficient evidence confirming the association between eating frequency and body weight or body composition when misreporting bias is taken into account. However, in men, a potential protective effect of high eating frequency was observed on BMI and visceral obesity.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.