Associations of regular consumption of breakfast, lunch, and dinner with BMI during adolescence: Longitudinal findings by weight status among the EAT 2010-2018 cohort.

OBJECTIVE:To examine how the associations between meal consumption and body mass index (BMI) over 8 years differ by weight status in a sample of adolescents. DESIGN:Longitudinal, population-based study. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner consumption and BMI were self-reported. Linear regressions were used to examine how the associations between meal consumption and BMI differed by weight status. SETTING:Adolescents in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. PARTICIPANTS:Adolescents (N=1,471) were surveyed as part of the EAT 2010-2018 in 2009-2010 (Mage=14.3 years) and 2017-2018 (Mage=22.0 years). RESULTS:The prevalence of regular breakfast, lunch, and dinner consumption (≥ 5 times/week) ranged from 45-65%, 75-89%, and 76-94%, respectively, depending on weight status category. Among adolescents with a sex and age-specific BMI <15th percentile, regular consumptions of breakfast, lunch, and dinner during adolescence were positively associated with BMI in emerging adulthood compared to irregular consumption of breakfast, lunch, and dinner (<5 times/week) after adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics (β=5.43, β=5.39, and β=6.46, respectively; all p-values <.01). Among adolescents in the BMI 15th-85th and 85th- 95th percentiles, regular consumptions of breakfast, lunch, and dinner were positively associated with BMI but to a lesser extent (p-values <.01). For participants with a BMI ≥ 95th percentile, regular consumptions of breakfast, lunch, and dinner were positively associated with BMI, but the associations were not statistically significant (p-values > .05). CONCLUSIONS:The relationship between meal consumption during adolescence and BMI in emerging adulthood differs by adolescent weight status. Future studies should investigate underlying factors related to meal consumption routines and BMI.