Association of Types of Meal Skipping with Cardio-metabolic Risk Factors in Korean Adults: The 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016-2018)

Background: This study aimed to examine the effects of different types of skipped meals on cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRF) in Korean adults.

Methods: We analyzed 14,062 adults from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted between 2016 and 2018. The irregularity of breakfast, lunch, and dinner consumption was assessed using 24-hour recall data, and we categorized the habit of skipping regular meals into eight types. Multiple linear regression was used to estimate the association between each type of meal skipping and the CMRF. We also presented the estimated effects of individual types of meal skipping on the CMRF based on their predicted values and mean differences.

Results: Korean adults tended to have irregular meal consumption habits when they had one or more of the following characteristics: female sex, under the age of 50 years, middle-high to high household income, high school or college or higher education levels, alcohol consumption, and current smoking. Compared to regular eaters, we have observed significantly higher total cholesterol in the following types of meal skipping: irregular breakfast (IB) (P<0.001), irregular lunch (P=0.005), irregular breakfast and lunch (IBL) (P=0.001), irregular breakfast and dinner (P=0.001); higher low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol in IB (P=0.009); higher triglyceride in IB (P=0.005) and IBL (P=0.034); and higher fasting glucose in IB (P=0.046).

Conclusion: Different types of meal skipping were associated with CMRF. Regular breakfast and lunch consumption should be emphasized to prevent and manage cardiometabolic disorders. However, skipping dinner showed no significant association with CMRF.