Is the Caloric Midpoint Associated with Food Cravings and Food Intake in Pregnant Women?

Abstract

Objective: The field of chrononutrition suggests that mealtime can influence food intake. Previous studies have linked the caloric midpoint – defined as the time at which 50% of the daily energy is consumed – with different aspects of food consumption. However, its relationship with food craving remains unexplored. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the association between caloric midpoint, food craving, and food consumption in pregnant women.

Methods: The study comprised 233 pregnant women classified as early eaters (caloric midpoint ≤ 1:00pm) and late eaters (caloric midpoint >1:00pm). Food craving were assessed using Food Craving Trait and State Questionnaires. Energy and nutrient intake, as well as mealtimes, were assessed using a 24-h food recall.

Results: No association between caloric midpoint and food craving was found. However, late eaters consumed more calories (2039.47 kcal vs 1843.44 kcal; p < 0.001), carbohydrates (255.06 g vs 211.12 g; p = 0.002), total fat (73.1 g vs 64.8 g; p = 0.003), monounsaturated fat (21.33 mg vs 18.59 mg; p = 0.002) and saturated fat (24.37 mg vs 22.21 mh; p = 0.01) and had higher consumption of calories and macronutrients in the first (calories: 275.63 vs 213.41, p = 0.007; carbohydrate: 170.42 vs 142.54, p = 0.01; total fat: 56.49 vs 50.17, p = 0.04) and second (calories: 213.21 vs 151.59, p = 0.04; carbohydrate: 130.44 vs 96.6, p = 0.04; protein: 15.17 vs 13.71, p = 0.03) afternoon snack, dinner (calories: 576.89 vs 412.4, p < 0.001; carbohydrate: 230.76 vs 169.45, p < 0.001; protein: 80.48 vs 68.9, p = 0.02; total fat: 212.77 vs 147.12, p < 0.001) and late-night snack (calories: 135.75 vs 68.3, p = 0.04; total fat: 13.23 vs 22.45, p = 0.04) than early eaters.

Conclusion: Pregnant women who concentrate their meals at later times consumed more calories, macro and micronutrients throughout the day and in the night meals when compared to early eaters.

Keywords:

• Food craving
• caloric midpoint
• mealtime
• pregnancy
• chrononutrition

Author contributions

The authors’ responsibilities were as follows: CAC, YCPM, CAG and LCTB designed the study. CAG, LCTB, WMF and GPT collected the data. CAP, GPT and SGM analyzed and interpreted the data. SGM and GPT wrote the initial manuscript. CAP, YCPM, CAG, LCTB, WMF revised the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript submitted for publication.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors would like to thank the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG).