Consistent and changing consumption of fast-food and full-service meals and 3-year weight change in a large population cohort study

Abstract

Background: An average American consumes 3 meals weekly from fast-food or full-service restaurants, which contain more calories, fat, sodium, and cholesterol than meals prepared at home.

Objectives: This study examined whether consistent and changing fast-food or full-service consumption was associated with weight change over a 3-y period.

Methods: Among 98,589 US adults from the American Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention Study-3, self-reported weight and fast-food and full-service consumption from 2015 and 2018 were examined using a multivariable-adjusted linear regression analysis to assess the association of consistent and changing consumption on 3-y weight change.

Results: Individuals who made no changes to their fast-food or full-service intake over the study period gained weight regardless of consumption frequency, although low consumers gained less weight than high consumers (low fast-food: β = -1.08; 95% CI: -1.22, -0.93; low full-service: β = -0.35; 95% CI: -0.50, -0.21; P < 0.001). Decreased fast-food intake during the study period (e.g., from high [>1 meal/wk] to low [≤0.5 meal/wk], high to medium [>0.5 to ≤1 meal/wk], or medium to low) and decreased full-service intake from high (≥1 meal/wk) to low (<1 meal/mo) were significantly associated with weight loss (high-low: β = -2.77; 95% CI: -3.23, -2.31; high-medium: β = -1.53; 95% CI: -1.72, -1.33; medium-low: β = -0.85; 95% CI: -1.06, -0.63; high-low full-service: β = -0.92; 95% CI: -1.36, -0.49; P < 0.001). Decreased consumption of both fast-food and full-service restaurant meals was associated with greater weight loss than decreasing fast-food alone (both: β = -1.65; 95% CI: -1.82, -1.37; fast-food only: β = -0.95; 95% CI: -1.12, -0.79; P < 0.001).

Conclusions: Decreased consumption of fast-food and full-service meals over 3 y, particularly among high consumers at baseline, was associated with weight loss and may be an effective approach to weight loss. Moreover, decreasing both fast-food and full-service meal consumption was associated with a greater weight loss than decreasing only fast-food meal consumption.

Keywords: Cancer Prevention Study-3; cohort study; fast-food; full-service; weight change.