Chrononutrition, Body Composition, and Resting Metabolic Rate Among College Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

May 4, 2026Nutrients

Timing of Eating, Body Shape, and Resting Metabolism in College Students

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Abstract

Frequent night eating is positively correlated with BMI (r = 0.27, p < 0.001).

Regular breakfast consumption is associated with a higher muscle mass percentage (β = 0.23, p < 0.01).
Sports-majoring students have longer weekday eating windows (11.2 ± 2.8 h) compared to non-sports-majoring students (8.5 ± 2.5 h, p < 0.001).
The dinner energy proportion is higher in sports-majoring students (37.2 ± 6.9%) than in non-sports-majoring students (30.5 ± 6.5%, p < 0.001).
Males tend to eat later and have longer eating windows than females, with breakfast times of 7:58 vs. 7:46 and dinner times of 18:55 vs. 18:41 (all p < 0.05).
Chrononutrition patterns are more closely linked to body composition than to absolute resting metabolic rate in this group.

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BACKGROUND: Chrononutrition is essential for metabolic health, but relevant evidence in Chinese sports-majoring college students is still insufficient. This study aimed to identify chrononutrition patterns and their associations with body composition and resting metabolic rate (RMR) in college students from a sports university.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 174 college students from Beijing Sport University (131 sports-majoring and 43 non-sports-majoring). Chrononutrition was measured by the validated Chinese version of the Chrononutrition Profile Questionnaire (CP-Q), body composition by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and RMR by indirect calorimetry. Sample sizes varied across analyses according to data availability, and 133 participants provided valid data for both body composition and resting metabolic rate (RMR) assessments.

RESULTS: Frequent night eating was positively correlated with BMI (r = 0.27,= 0.001), and regular breakfast consumption was related to higher muscle mass percentage (β = 0.23,< 0.01, sr= 0.05). Compared with non-sports-majoring students, sports-majoring students had longer weekday eating windows (11.2 ± 2.8 h vs. 8.5 ± 2.5 h,< 0.001) and a higher dinner energy proportion (37.2 ± 6.9% vs. 30.5 ± 6.5%,< 0.001). Males had later meal times and longer eating windows than females (breakfast: 7:58 vs. 7:46; dinner: 18:55 vs. 18:41; eating window: 11.5 h vs. 10.9 h; all< 0.05). p p p p p2

CONCLUSIONS: Chrononutrition was more closely associated with body composition than with absolute RMR in this predominantly sports-majoring sample of Chinese college students. Regular breakfast and reduced night eating are potential intervention targets for future chrononutrition guidance. However, the findings should be generalized to the broader college student population with caution.

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Chrononutrition, Body Composition, and Resting Metabolic Rate Among College Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

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