Young people and adolescents have more irregular meals during the COVID-19 pandemic: A nested case-control study on chrono-nutrition before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chrono-nutrition is an emerging field of research that includes three aspects of time: (1) regularity, (2) frequency, and (3) clock time. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the implemented lockdown, daily routines were disrupted, which presented a unique opportunity to investigate chrono-nutrition, in particular in adolescents. A nested case-control study was conducted and information on chrono-nutrition was collected via an anonymous online questionnaire including 99 participants aged 13 to 20 years (N = 43 before the COVID-19 pandemic and N = 56 during the COVID-19 pandemic). Differences in chrono-nutrition were tested with chi-square and Mann-Whitney U. During the COVID-19 pandemic, participants consumed their breakfast less regularly (34%) compared with participants before the COVID-19 pandemic (65%) ( = .003). Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, participants consumed snacks in the morning (26% vs. 60%, = .001), afternoon (19% vs. 81%, < .000), and evening (22% vs. 84%, < .001) less regularly. However, the frequency in afternoon (4.9 ± 2.2 times per week vs. 3.8 ± 1.9 times per week, = .002) and evening snacks (4.4 ± 2.4 times per week vs. 3.4 ± 2.0 times per week, = .02) was higher for participants during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also observed that participants reported more sleeping problems during the COVID-19 pandemic (34% vs. 14%; = .07). This study in 99 young people and adolescents suggests that meal regularity declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, while meal frequency, especially snack consumption, increased. This highlights the importance of maintaining a regular daily structure to avoid excessive energy intake via snacks.