Aim: To assess the relationship between number of meals eaten and weight status, and to assess potential confounders of this relationship.
Methods: A total of 2870 (participation rate: 85%) 9th and 10th graders (mean age: 15.5 years) at 33 schools completed questionnaires in May 2005. Number of meals was measured with questions asking whether they ate breakfast, lunch, dinner, and supper the day before, giving a scale ranging from zero to four meals/day. Data on gender, height, weight, education plans, intake of fruits and vegetables, consumption of unhealthy snacks, TV/computer time, physical activity level, and dieting were also collected.
Results: The proportions of overweight adolescents related to the number of meals eaten were: 10% (0-1 meals, n = 107), 18% (2 meals, n = 399), 14% (3 meals, n = 925), and 10% (4 meals, n = 1402), p ≤ 0.001. Low education plans, high TV/computer time, low physical activity level, and dieting were all positively associated with both being overweight and not having four meals. Being a boy was positively associated with being overweight but negatively associated with not having four meals. High intake of unhealthy snacks was negatively associated with being overweight, but positively associated with not having four meals. In a logistic regression analysis, adjusting for all variables mentioned, odds ratio for being overweight were 0.8 (95% CI 0.3-1.9), 1.8 (95% CI 1.2-2.7) and 1.6 (95% CI 1.2-2.3), respectively, for eating one or zero, two, and three meals compared to four meals.
Conclusions: Eating four meals/day was significantly negatively related to being overweight, also when controlling for potential confounding factors.