Patterns of Dietary Habits Are Associated With Metabolic Health Status in Adults Publisher Pubmed



Balali A ; Poursalehi D ; Heidari Z ; Rouhani P ; Shahdadian F ; Hajhashemy Z ; Mohammadi S ; Mokhtari E ; Saneei P
Source: British Journal of Nutrition Published:2026

Abstract

Metabolic disorders, as a global burden, have a detrimental effect on individuals’ health status, regardless of their weight. We aimed to assess the link between diet-related behaviors and metabolic health status as well as serum levels of adropin and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). A cross-sectional investigation involving 527 adults with ages of 20 and 65 years was carried out in Isfahan, Iran. Using a pre-tested questionnaire, dietary habits were assessed in five domains including meal pattern, eating rate, meal-to-sleep interval, intra-meal fluid intake, and fatty food intake. To identify these dietary behaviors, latent class analysis was performed. Based on the lipid and glycemic profile, inflammation status, and insulin resistance (IR), participants were classified as having either metabolically healthy (MH) or metabolically unhealthy (MU) status. Serum concentrations of BDNF and adropin were evaluated by obtaining a blood sample from participants after an overnight fast. Metabolic unhealthy normal-weight and overweight/obese status were respectively prevalent in 8.7% and 33.8% of study population. We recognized three distinct eating rate classes: ‘moderate’, ‘fast’, and ‘slow’; two major meal pattern classes: ‘regular’ and ‘irregular’; two main meal-to-sleep interval classes: ‘short’ and ‘long’; two intra-meal fluid intake classes: ‘moderate’ and ‘more’; and two major fatty food intake classes: ‘high’ and ‘low’. After controlling for potential confounders, slow eating rate was related to lower odds of MU profile (OR=0.39, 95% CI: 0.17-0.91). Moreover, fast eating rate was positively associated with hyperglycemia (OR=3.55, 95% CI: 1.48-8.51). More intra-meal fluid intake was also associated with higher chance of MU profile (OR=2.21, 95% CI: 1.35-3.63), high HOMA-IR (OR=2.20, 95% CI: 1.06-4.58), hypertriglyceridemia (OR=2.23, 95% CI: 1.36-3.65), and hypertension (OR=1.66, 95% CI: 1.03-2.69). Serum BDNF or adropin was not associated with classes of diet-related habits. More intra-meal fluid intake was linked to higher chance of having MU profile, while slow eating rate was related to decreased odds of MU profile among Iranian adults. © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press.