Gender and Age Differences in Weekend Eating Habits: Associations with Fat Mass Percentage in a Cross-Sectional Study

Stefania Gorini¹Elisabetta Camajani¹Alessandra Feraco¹Andrea Armani¹Chiara Quattrini¹Maria Grazia Tarsitano¹Edda Cava²Laura Di Renzo³Massimiliano Caprio¹Antonino De Lorenzo³Mauro Lombardo^1*

• ¹Department of Human Sciences and Promotion of the Quality of Life, San Raffaele Open University, Rome, Italy
• ²Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, San Camillo Forlanini Hospital, Rome, cir.ne Gianicolense 87, 00152 Rome, Italy, Rome, Sicily, Italy
• ³Division of Clinical Nutrition and Nutrigenomic, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Lazio, Italy

p < 0.001) but consistency alone does not guarantee better body composition, as the quality of the diet was not assessed. Among men aged 31-45 years, cooking at home was associated with a higher FM% than maintaining weekday habits (p = 0.0028). Regression analysis showed that FM% was higher in females and older age groups, while eating out, being hosted, or maintaining weekday habits were associated with lower FM% compared to cooking at home (all p < 0.05).Weekend eating habits represent a distinct and influential factor on body composition, rather than a simple extension of weekday patterns. The results emphasise that gender-and age-specific approaches are crucial in dietary interventions, particularly for younger men and women who maintain structured meal patterns. These results suggest that weekends may be an important period for dietary interventions based on self-reported dietary patterns, with potential implications for gender-and age-specific dietary interventions and broader public health strategies aimed at improving long-term metabolic outcomes.