Relationships Between Eating Behaviors and Hand Grip Strength Among Chinese Adults: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study

PURPOSE: Poor eating behaviors are associated with imbalances in energy and food intake, which may directly or indirectly contribute to muscle strength loss. This study aimed to investigate the association between eating behaviors and hand grip strength in Chinese adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We designed and conducted a cross-sectional study of 2009 Chinese individuals aged 25–65 years in 2017. Eating behaviors, including breakfast consumption, snacking after dinner, and eating rate, were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. Hand grip strength was assessed using a digital grip dynamometer. Age, sex, BMI, physical activity, educational level, occupation, living status, sleep duration, smoking and drinking status, hypertension, diabetes, and depressive symptoms were used as confounding factors. RESULTS: After final adjustments for confounding factors, grip strength was measured as 35.2 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 34.7–35.8), 36.0 (95% CI: 35.6–36.4), and 36.9 (95% CI: 36.6–37.3) for those who skipped, occasionally ate, and regularly ate breakfast, respectively (p for trend <0.001). Those who always, sometimes, and seldom snacked after dinner (p for trend <0.001) reported the following grip strength: 34.7 (95% CI: 34.0–35.3), 36.2 (95% CI: 35.8–36.6), and 36.9 (95% CI: 36.6–37.2), respectively. Significant associations were not found between eating rate and grip strength. CONCLUSION: This study showed that higher frequency of breakfast consumption and lower frequency of snacking after dinner were associated with higher grip strength in Chinese adults. Therefore, eating behaviors may be involved in muscle function.