The relationship between meal frequency and body mass index in black and white adolescent girls: more is less.
OBJECTIVE
To document meal frequency and its relationship to body mass index (BMI) in a longitudinal sample of black and white girls from ages 9-19 years.


METHODS
Ten-year longitudinal observational study.


METHODS
At baseline, 1209 Black girls (539 age nine years, 670 age 10 years) and 1,166 White girls (616 age nine years, 550 age 10 years) were enrolled in the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study (NGHS).


METHODS
Three-day food diaries, measured height and weight and self-reported physical activity and television viewing were obtained at annual in-person visits.


RESULTS
Over the course of the study, the percentage of girls eating 3+ meals on all 3 days was reduced by over half (15 vs 6%). Participants who ate 3+ meals on more days had lower BMI-for-age z-scores. Black girls, but not white girls, who ate 3+ meals on more days were less likely to meet criteria for overweight.


CONCLUSIONS
Meal frequency was related to BMI and should be considered when developing guidelines to prevent childhood overweight.
Franko
D L
DL
Department of Counseling & Applied Educational Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA. d.franko@neu.edu
Striegel-Moore
R H
RH
Thompson
D
D
Affenito
S G
SG
Schreiber
G B
GB
Daniels
S R
SR
Crawford
P B
PB
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People; D001823:Body Composition / Q000235:genetics*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D015930:Diet Records; D004435:Eating; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D044465:White People