A tendency toward evening chronotype associates with less healthy diet among preschoolers: cross-sectional findings from the DAGIS study

Anna M Abdollahi; Xinyue Li; Ilona Merikanto; Henna Vepsäläinen; Reetta Lehto; Jenna Rahkola; Kaija Nissinen; Noora Kanerva; Eva Roos; Maijaliisa Erkkola

doi:10.1093/sleepadvances/zpae026

A tendency toward evening chronotype associates with less healthy diet among preschoolers: cross-sectional findings from the DAGIS study

Sleep Adv. 2024 Apr 20;5(1):zpae026. doi: 10.1093/sleepadvances/zpae026. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Anna M Abdollahi¹, Xinyue Li², Ilona Merikanto^{3

4

5}, Henna Vepsäläinen¹, Reetta Lehto^{1

6}, Jenna Rahkola⁶, Kaija Nissinen^{1

7}, Noora Kanerva¹, Eva Roos^{6

8

9}, Maijaliisa Erkkola¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Food and Nutrition, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
² School of Data Science, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
³ Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
⁴ Department of Public Health and Welfare, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
⁵ Orton Orthopaedics Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
⁶ Folkhälsan Research Center, Folkhälsan, Helsinki, Finland.
⁷ School of Food and Agriculture, Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences, Seinäjoki, Finland.
⁸ Department of Food Studies, Nutrition and Dietetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
⁹ Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.

Abstract

Study objectives: Evidence suggests that adolescents and adults with a later chronotype have poorer sleep habits and are more susceptible to unhealthy behaviors, but little is known about these associations in younger children. The objective of the study was to (1) identify and compare individual chronotype tendencies among preschool-aged children and (2) investigate associations of sleep dimensions and chronotype with diet.

Methods: Participants were 636 3-6 years old (mean ± SD age: 4.74 ± 0.89 years, 49% girls) preschoolers from the cross-sectional Increased Health and Well-Being in Preschoolers (DAGIS) study in Finland. Sleep duration, sleep variability (in duration and midpoint), social jetlag, and midsleep on weekends adjusted for sleep debt (MSWEadj) were measured with 7-day actigraphy. Morning, intermediate, and evening chronotype tendencies were defined based on the lowest and highest 10th percentile cutoffs of MSWEadj. Food, energy, and macronutrient intake were assessed from 3-day records. Associations between sleep dimensions and diet were assessed with regression models.

Results: MSWEadj was 1:13 ± 14 minutes for morning (n = 64), 2:25 ± 28 minutes for intermediate (n = 560), and 3:38 ± 15 minutes for evening (n = 64) chronotype tendency. Children with an evening chronotype tendency had greater social jetlag and sleep variability. Having an evening chronotype tendency was associated with higher added sugar, higher sugary food consumption, and lower vegetable consumption compared to intermediate tendency types. A later chronotype (MSWEadj) was associated with higher sugary food consumption, as well as lower vegetable and fiber intake. Sleep duration, social jetlag, and sleep variability were not associated with diet.

Conclusions: Several less healthy sleep and diet behaviors were observed among children with later chronotypes. Future public health interventions aimed towards children would benefit from taking into account chronotype.

Keywords: added sugar intake; circadian misalignment; fruit and vegetable consumption; irregular sleep; sleep–wake rhythm.