Racial and Ethnic Differences in Eating Duration and Meal Timing: Findings from NHANES 2011–2018

Background: In addition to quantity and quality, meal timing and eating duration are additional dietary characteristics that impact cardiometabolic health. Given that cardiometabolic health disparities exist among racial and ethnic groups, we examined whether meal timing and eating duration are additional diet-related differences among racial and ethnic groups. Methods: Participants (n = 13,084) were adults (≥20 years) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination (NHANES, 2011–2018) Survey. Times of first and last meal and the interval between them (eating duration) were derived from two 24-h dietary recalls. Multiple linear regression analyses compared these variables among race and ethnicity after adjusting for potential confounders. Results: Compared to non-Hispanic White adults, the first mealtime was significantly later for Mexican American (23 min), Non-Hispanic Asian (15 min), Non-Hispanic Black (46 min), and Other Hispanic (20 min) and Other Racial (14 min) adults (all p < 0.05). Mexican American and Non-Hispanic Asian adults had a significantly different last mealtime by 13 min earlier and 25 min later, respectively, compared to Non-Hispanic White adults. Compared to Non-Hispanic White adults, the mean eating duration was shorter for other Hispanic (20 min), Mexican American (36 min), and Non-Hispanic Black (49 min) adults. Conclusions: Meal timing and eating duration are additional dietary characteristics that vary significantly among racial and ethnic groups.