Definitions of night eating in adolescent girls.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the prevalence of night eating in a community cohort of black and white girls, using different definitions of night eating as described in the literature.


METHODS
Three-day food diaries collected as part of the National Growth and Health Study were examined to identify episodes of night eating, which was defined in five different ways: eating >25% of daily caloric intake after the last evening meal, eating >25% of daily caloric intake after 7 pm, eating >50% of daily caloric intake after the last evening meal, eating >50% of daily caloric intake after 7 pm, or eating between 11 pm and 4:59 am.


RESULTS
Frequency of night eating varied tremendously depending on how the behavior was defined. For the least restrictive definition (>25% of total intake after last meal), 50% to 70% of girls reported one night eating event; for the most restrictive (>50% of total intake after last meal), only 1.5% of 11-year-old girls' diaries and 3.5% of 19-year-old girls' diaries contained a night eating event. The frequency of night eating decreased dramatically (typically by a factor of 10) if the inclusion criteria required multiple night eating events in a given week.


CONCLUSIONS
A standard definition of night eating behavior is needed to advance the field. An agreed-on operationalized definition that includes time of day, amount of calories consumed, and a frequency criterion would enable cross-study comparisons and encourage the examination of developmental and clinical considerations of night eating behavior.
Striegel-Moore
Ruth H
RH
Department of Psychology, Wesleyan University, 207 High Street, Middletown, CT 06459, USA. rstriegel@wesleyan.edu
Thompson
Douglas
D
Franko
Debra L
DL
Barton
Bruce
B
Affenito
Sandra
S
Schreiber
George B
GB
Daniels
Stephen R
SR
D000293:Adolescent; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D015930:Diet Records; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D006801:Humans; D006963:Hyperphagia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D012008:Recurrence; D013577:Syndrome