Evaluation of adults' body mass index according to their chronotypes

The circadian rhythm, also known as the daily cyclic system, has created different chronotypes, known as different rhythm preferences, that vary from person to person, depending on many factors such as age, gender, genetics and working life. It is also seen as the mechanism underlying important health problems such as obesity which is the one of the biggest problems in developed and developing countries. This thesis study was conducted with 80 adults who applied to Dietitian Zeynep Ezgi Özkan Nutrition and Diet Counseling Center in Tekirdağ between March 2019 and July 2019 in order to examine the relationship between chronotypes and body mass indexes of adult individuals. Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire was used to determine participants' chronotype. The data were collected using a structured form containing the socio-demographic information of the participants, their nutritional habits and anthropometric measurements. As a result of the study, the body mass index, waist circumference, fat ratio and age values of morning type participants were higher than those of intermediate and evening type participants. A significant relationship was found between chronotypes and age mean. There was no statistically significant relationship between chronotype and main meal, and snack. It was found that those who had a snack after dinner were mostly in the evening type participants. In conclusion, an individual's chronotype can lead to the development of obesity risk factors.