Relationship between chronotype, chrononutrition and, health in adult individuals

This study was conducted to examine the relationship between chronotype characteristics, chrononutrition behaviors, and health-related variables in adults. A total of 176 voluntary participants, including 66 men and 110 women between the ages of 20 and 60 who agreed to participate in the study, were included. Participants' general (age, weight, height, BMI, gender, nutrition knowledge) and health-related information (presence of chronic disease, sleep quality, orthorexia nervosa tendency) were assessed. Chronotypes were determined using the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), while chrononutrition status was assessed using the Chrononutrition Profile Questionnaire (CPQ). Sleep quality was evaluated with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and orthorexia tendencies were assessed with the ORTO-R scale. The participants had a mean age of 37.63 ± 8.2 years, and 87.5% had a university-level or equivalent education. Among the participants, 37.5% had a diagnosed disease, and 55.5% reported skipping main meals. The most frequently skipped meal was breakfast (64.0%). The mean number of days per week without breakfast was 1.7 ± 2.2. Skipping breakfast significantly increased night eating syndrome scores (p < 0.001). As night eating syndrome scores increased, MEQ scores decreased, indicating a shift toward the evening chronotype (p = 0.005). Regression analysis revealed that each one-point increase in the night eating score increased the risk of poor sleep quality by 17.1%. Furthermore, a one-point increase in PSQI score increased the likelihood of having an evening chronotype by 16.6%, while each one-point increase toward the morning chronotype reduced the risk of poor sleep quality by 6.5%. When comparing chronotype and gender, men were found to be significantly more morning-oriented than women (p = 0.006). Based on chronotype classification, the percentage of energy and nutrient intake meeting requirements was inadequate for carbohydrate and selenium (<67%). The findings suggest that aligning dietary and lifestyle patterns with individuals' biological rhythms may have significant impacts on health outcomes. Accordingly, it was concluded that chronotype assessment should be considered in the development of personalized nutrition planning.