Alignment between timing of ‘highest caloric intake’ and chronotype in relation to body composition during adolescence: the DONALD Study

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec> <jats:title>Purpose</jats:title> <jats:p>Our aim was to assess alignment in timing of ‘highest caloric intake’ with individual chronotype and its association with body composition in adolescents.</jats:p> </jats:sec><jats:sec> <jats:title>Methods</jats:title> <jats:p>We used repeatedly collected data from <jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 196 adolescents (age 9–16 years, providing <jats:italic>N</jats:italic> = 401 yearly questionnaires) of the DONALD open cohort study. Chronotype was assessed by the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire from which midpoint of sleep (MSFsc) was derived. A sex- and age-specific diet-chrono-alignment score (DCAS) was calculated as the difference in hours between the chronotype-specific median timing of highest caloric intake of the studied population and the individual timing of ‘highest caloric intake’ or vice versa. Repeated-measures regression models were applied to study cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between the DCAS and body composition, e.g., Fat Mass Index (FMI) or Fat Free Mass Index (FFMI).</jats:p> </jats:sec><jats:sec> <jats:title>Results</jats:title> <jats:p>DCAS ranged from −6:42 h to + 8:01 h and was not associated with body composition. Among adolescents with a later chronotype (<jats:italic>N</jats:italic> = 201) a 1 h increase in DCAS (later consumption of ‘highest caloric intake’ in comparison to the median intake of that group), increased FFMI by 1.92 kg/m<jats:sup>2</jats:sup> (95% CI: 0.15, 3.69, <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> value = 0.04) over a median follow-up of 0.94 year.</jats:p> </jats:sec><jats:sec> <jats:title>Conclusion</jats:title> <jats:p>Alignment of energy intake with individual chronotype appears beneficial for FFMI among those with a late chronotype.</jats:p> </jats:sec>