Circadian patterns of beverage consumption within the EPIC-Germany cohorts

Peer-reviewed | Manuscript received: March 04, 2015 | Revision accepted: August 07, 2015

Introduction

Information on beverage consumption throughout the course of the day is rarely available from studies with nutritional data. However, the circadian intake of foods and beverages deserves more attention as it has been suggested that the timing of consumption of energy as well as the ratio of macronutrients by food and beverages may influence the overall intake [1] as well as metabolic processes [2]. While beverages in particular provide the level of fluid intake vital for physical and mental health by accounting for approximately 70–80 % of total fluid intake [3, 4], beverages may contain compounds such as various sugars, proteins, macro- and micronutrients, secondary plant compounds and possibly fibers [5, 6].

Furthermore, certain beverages such as soft drinks are energy-rich and contribute to a high proportion of total energy intake [3, 7]. Thus, in countries with moderate climate a beverage intake of 1.5 l per day per person is recommended, of which water and low-energy beverages should make up the largest proportion [8]. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the average daily beverage consumption, also considering study populations of different regional backgrounds, the beverage intake assessed by 24-h dietary recalls was analyzed within sub-studies of the German EPIC-study populations in Potsdam and Heidelberg.

Summary

To identify circadian patterns of beverage consumption, also considering regional differences, we analyzed data from 24-h dietary recalls of 1,606 men and women (mean age 67 years) participating in the two German EPIC-study populations in Heidelberg and Potsdam from 2010 to 2012. We found that the first peak of fluid consumption occurs during the morning at breakfast-time, followed by two smaller peaks in the afternoon and during dinner-time. With respect to meal patterns, beverage consumption was low at lunch-time compared to breakfast- and dinner-time. Beverage intake during the evening was found to be of minor importance in regard to overall beverage intake and was mainly confined to alcoholic beverages, particularly in men.

The results indicate that while men and women from the EPIC-Potsdam cohort consume more coffee, especially in the afternoon, and men consume more tea and beer, participants from the EPIC-Heidelberg cohort consume more wine, especially in the evening, as well as more soft drinks during lunch-time. Furthermore, the recommendation of the German Nutrition Society (DGE) to drink at least 1.5 l of low-energy beverages was only met by 50 % of the participants from Potsdam and by 46 % of the participants from Heidelberg. These and other findings suggest the necessity of strategies to improve the beverage consumption behavior in older adults in Germany, especially among men. Moreover, the present data indicate regional differences in drinking patterns in Germany.

Keywords: fluid intake, Germany, beverage consumption, water, adults, drinking behavior, circadian patterns

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