ABSTRACT
The built environment has been implicated in the development of the epidemic of obesity. We investigated the differences in the meal patterns of normal weight vs. overweight/obese individuals occurring at home vs. other locations. The location of meals and their size in free-living participants were continuously recorded for 7 consecutive days. Study 1: 81 males and 84 females recorded their intake in 7-day diet diaries and wore a belt that contained a GPS Logger to record their location continuously for 7 consecutive days. Study 2: 388 males and 621 females recorded their intake in diet diaries for 7 consecutive days. In both studies, compared to eating at home, overweight/obese participants ate larger meals away from home in both restaurants and other locations than normal weight participants. Overweight/obese individuals appear to be more responsive to environmental cues for eating away from home. This suggests that the influence of the built environment on the intake of overweight/obese individuals may contribute to the obesity epidemic.
