Evening chronotype and highly processed food consumption: the mediating role of intuitive eating

Among 610 adults, 20.3% reported an evening chronotype and 68% indicated high consumption of highly processed foods.

• Evening chronotype is linked to higher levels of unconditional permission to eat and eating for physical reasons.
• Lower body-food choice congruence is associated with evening chronotype.
• Higher consumption of highly processed foods is significantly related to lower scores on the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire.
• Mediation analyses suggest that intuitive eating factors, such as unconditional permission to eat and body-food choice congruence, may explain the connection between evening chronotype and processed food consumption.
• No significant differences by sex were observed in the relationship between chronotype and highly processed food consumption.

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