Association of eating frequency with anthropometric indices and blood pressure in children and adolescents: the CASPIAN-IV Study

AbstractObjectivesThis study was conducted to explore the association of eating frequency (EF) with anthropometric indices and blood pressure (BP) in children and adolescents.MethodsThis nationwide cross-sectional study was performed on a multi-stage sample of 14,880 students, aged 6–18 years, living in 30 provinces in Iran. Parents were asked to report dietary intake of children as frequency of food groups and/or items. EF was defined as the sum of the daily consumption frequency of main meals and snacks. Association of EF with weight disorders, abdominal obesity, and elevated BP was assessed using different logistic regression models adjusted for potential confounding factors.ResultsEating more frequently (≥6 vs. ≤3) was found among students who were at younger age (11.91 vs. 13.29 years) (p