Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Dinner-to-bed time is independently associated with overweight/obesity in Chinese school-aged children

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Little is known about the association between dinner-to-bed time and obesity. Thus, this study was aimed to assess the relationships between dinner-to-bed and overweight/obesity in Chinese school-aged children in Ningbo, China.

Methods

Data of this study were based on 1667 schoolchildren (14–15 years) from 14 primary schools participated in this study in China. Anthropometric measurement of height, body weight and waist circumference (WC) was performed. Information about meal duration and other lifestyle behaviors was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression model was performed to assess the association between dinner-to-bed time and overweight/obesity. Restricted cubic spline regression was drawn to evaluate the shape of the relation between dinner-bed-time and the odds of overweight.

Results

Among the study participants, the prevalence of overweight was 17.6%, and the mean of dinner-to-bed time was 4.26 (0.93) h. In the logistic regression analysis, participants who had dinner-to-bed time less than 3 h or 3.01 ~ ≦ 4.00 h are more likely to be overweight (OR = 1.94, 95% CI 1.10–3.42; OR = 1.65, 95% CI 1.03–2.65, respectively) or characterised by abdominal obesity (OR = 3.03, 95% CI 1.86–4.95; OR = 2.61, 95% CI 1.73–3.92, respectively) compared with dinner-to-bed time more than 5 h. In addition, long dinner-to-bed time was associated with lower risks of overweight (OR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.70–0.97) and abdominal obesity (OR = 0.63, 95% CI 0.54–0.73). The cubic spline regression analysis showed that the association between dinner-to–bed time and overweight/abdominal obesity seems to be a linear.

Conclusions

This study indicates that short dinner-to-bed time is associated with an increased likelihood of being overweight or characterised by abdominal obesity among Chinese school-aged children.

Level of evidence

Level V; cross-section descriptive study.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

Additional data can on request be made available.

References

  1. Su C, Zhang B, Wang YF, Jia XF, Xue H, Wang HJ (2015) Epidemics of overweight and obesity among growing childhood in China between 1997 and 2009: impact of family income, dietary intake, and physical activity dynamics. Chin Med J (Engl) 128(14):1879–1886. https://doi.org/10.4103/0366-6999.160648

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Zhang J, Li X, Hawley N et al (2018) Trends in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among chinese school-age children and adolescents from 2010 to 2015. Child Obes 14(3):182–188. https://doi.org/10.1089/chi.2017.0309

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Yatsuya H, Li Y, Hilawe EH et al (2014) Global trend in overweight and obesity and its association with cardiovascular disease incidence. Circ J 78(12):2807–2818. https://doi.org/10.1253/circj.cj-14-0850

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Story M, Sallis JF, Orleans CT (2009) Adolescent obesity: towards evidence-based policy and environmental solutions. J Adolesc Health 45(3 Suppl):S1–S5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.06.022

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Logue J, Sattar N (2010) Obesity in children and future cardiometabolic risk: are blood tests necessary? Diabetes Care 33(12):2711–2712. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc10-1748

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Mora-Gonzalez J, Esteban-Cornejo I, Solis-Urra P et al (2020) Fitness, physical activity, sedentary time, inhibitory control, and neuroelectric activity in children with overweight or obesity: the ActiveBrains project. Psychophysiology 57(6):e13579. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13579

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Mayer EI, Reuter M, Dopfer RE, Ranke MB (2000) Energy expenditure, energy intake and prevalence of obesity after therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia during childhood. Horm Res 53(4):193–199. https://doi.org/10.1159/000023566

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Horikawa C, Kodama S, Yachi Y et al (2011) Skipping breakfast and prevalence of overweight and obesity in Asian and Pacific regions: a meta-analysis. Prev Med 53(4–5):260–267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2011.08.030

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Gong QH, Li SX, Wang SJ, Wu YH, Han LY, Li H (2020) Sleep duration and overweight in Chinese adolescents: a prospective longitudinal study with 2-year follow-up. Sleep Breath 24(1):321–328. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-019-01979-0

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. McHill AW, Phillips AJ, Czeisler CA et al (2017) Later circadian timing of food intake is associated with increased body fat. Am J Clin Nutr 106(5):1213–1219. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.117.161588

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Hsieh SD, Muto T, Murase T, Tsuji H, Arase Y (2010) Association of short sleep duration with obesity, diabetes, fatty liver and behavioral factors in Japanese men. Intern Med 50:2499–2502. https://doi.org/10.2169/internalmedicine.50.5844

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Yoshida J, Eguchi E, Nagaoka K, Ito T, Ogino K (2018) Association of night eating habits with metabolic syndrome and its components: a longitudinal study. BMC Public Health 18(1):1366. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-6262-3

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Xu L, Zhang X, Lu J et al (2016) The effects of dinner-to-bed time and post-dinner walk on gastric cancer across different age groups. Medicine (Baltimore) 95(16):e3397

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Fujiwara Y, Machida A, Watanabe Y et al (2005) Association between dinner-to-bed time and gastro-esophageal reflux disease. Am J Gastroenterol 100(12):2633–2636. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1572-0241.2005.00354.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Lin Y, Peng Y, Liang B et al (2018) Associations of dinner-to-bed time, post-dinner walk and sleep duration with colorectal cancer: a case-control study. Medicine (Baltimore) 97:e12038. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000012038

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Gong QH, Li H, Zhang XH, Zhang T, Cui J, Xu GZ (2017) Associations between sleep duration and physical activity and dietary behaviors in Chinese adolescents: results from the Youth Behavioral Risk Factor Surveys of 2015. Sleep Med 37:168–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2017.06.024

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Zhang J, Wang H, Wang Z et al (2018) Prevalence and stabilizing trends in overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in China, 2011–2015. BMC Public Health 18(1):571. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5483-9

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Gong QH, Li SX, Li H, Cui J, Xu GZ (2018) Insufficient sleep duration and overweight/obesity among adolescents in a Chinese population. Int J Environ Res Public Health 15(5):997. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15050997

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Cole TJ, Bellizzi MC, Flegal KM, Dietz WH (2000) Establishing standard definition for child overweight and obesity worldwide: international survey. BMJ 320(7244):1240–1243. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.320.7244.1240

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Cole TJ, Flegal KM, Nicholls D, Jackson AA (2007) Body mass index cut offs to define thinness in children and adolescents: international survey. BMJ 335(7612):194. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.39238.399444.55

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Wu LJ, Ma J, Fu LG et al (2013) Association between abdominal obesity and blood pressure among 7 to 10 years old Chinese children. Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi (Chinese) 47(8):689–694 (Article in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Xiao Q, Garaulet M, Scheer FAJL (2019) Meal timing and obesity: interactions with macronutrient intake and chronotype. Int J Obes (Lond) 43(9):1701–1711. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-018-0284-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Berg C, Lappas G, Wolk A et al (2009) Eating patterns and portion size associated with obesity in a Swedish population. Appetite 52(1):21–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2008.07.008

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Soreca I, Wallace ML, Hall MH, Hasler BP, Frank E, Kupfer DJ (2016) The association between meal timing and frequency with cardiometabolic profile in patients with bipolar disorder. Acta Psychiatr Scand 133(6):453–458. https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.12578

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Wang JB, Patterson RE, Ang A, Emond JA, Shetty N, Arab L (2014) Timing of energy intake during the day is associated with the risk of obesity in adults. J Hum Nutr Diet 27(suppl 2):255–262. https://doi.org/10.1111/jhn.12141

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Gluck ME, Venti Ca Fau-Salbe AD, Salbe Ad Fau-Krakoff J (2008) Nighttime eating: commonly observed and related to weight gain in an inpatient food intake study. Am J Clin Nutr 88(4):900–905. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/88.4.900

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Romon M, Edme JL, Boulenguez C, Lescroart JL, Frimat P (1993) Circadian variation of diet-induced thermogenesis. Am J Clin Nutr 57:476–480. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/57.4.476

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Scheer FA, Hilton MF, Mantzoros CS, Shea SA (2009) Adverse metabolic and cardiovascular consequences of circadian misalignment. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 106(11):4453–4458. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0808180106

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  29. Morgan CM, Tanofsky-Kraff M, Yanovski SZ, Jorge MR, Yanovki JA (2002) Loss of control over eating, body fat, and psychopathology in normal weight and overweight children. Int J Eat Disord 35(4):430–441. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.10038

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Heather S, Paul R, Eric S (2018) Using participant feedback to improve two selective eating disorder and obesity prevention programs. Eat Behav 30:93–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2018.06.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Sofer S, Stark AH, Madar Z (2015) Nutrition targeting by food timing: time-related dietary approaches to combat obesity and metabolic syndrome. Adv Nutr 6(2):214–223. https://doi.org/10.3945/an.114.007518

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  32. Bezerra IN, Sichieri R (2009) Eating out of home and obesity: a Brazilian nationwide survey. Public Health Nutr 12(11):2037–2043. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980009005710

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Maruyama K, Sato S, Ohira T et al (2008) The joint impact on being overweight of self reported behaviours of eating quickly and eating until full: cross sectional survey. BMJ 337:a2002. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.a2002

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This study was funded by grants from the Nature Science Foundation of Ningbo (NO. 2016A610181, 2018A610403), Ningbo Health Branding Subject Fund (PPXK2018-10). The authors greatly to the participants of the NYRBS study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ningbo Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Ningbo, 315010, Zhejiang Province, China

    Qing-Hai Gong, Si-Xuan Li, Si-Jia Wang & Hui Li

Authors
  1. Qing-Hai Gong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Si-Xuan Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Si-Jia Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Hui Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

HL and QHG designed the research. QHG and SJW carried out the statistical analysis and drafted the manuscript. SXL and QHG contributed to the writing of the manuscript and provided critical comments. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript submitted for publication.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hui Li.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This study was approved by the ethics committee of Ningbo Center for Disease Control and Prevention (201703).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gong, QH., Li, SX., Wang, SJ. et al. Dinner-to-bed time is independently associated with overweight/obesity in Chinese school-aged children. Eat Weight Disord 26, 2657–2663 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-021-01129-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-021-01129-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation