ABS 080: Timing of Energy Intake and Associations with Adiposity Among Postpartum Women: A Pilot Study

Zena Patel (1), Camille Worthington (2)

¹ UAB School of Health Professions, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.
² WEBB School of Nutrition Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL

Van Wickle (2025) Volume 1, ABS 080

Introduction: Approximately 60-75% of postpartum women fail to return to their pre-pregnancy weight (i.e., postpartum weight retention, PPWR) and many women gain weight postpartum. Interpregnancy weight gain and PPWR negatively impact women’s cardiometabolic health and increase the risk for complications in future pregnancies. Conventional postpartum weight management interventions (i.e., modifying caloric intake and diet quality, increasing physical activity) have limited success. Therefore, novel strategies to manage PPWR are needed. Eating late into the day/overnight has adverse effects on weight and metabolism. Postpartum women may be more likely to eat overnight due to infant-related sleep disruptions. Yet, data characterizing eating patterns postpartum are scarce and no studies have considered the timing of food intake as an intervention target for managing PPWR. Therefore, this study aims to characterize postpartum women’s eating schedules, assess associations between meal timing and body composition, and explore factors impacting meal timing postpartum.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional pilot study of 25 postpartum women (5–24 weeks postpartum) who delivered at UAB Hospital. They completed demographic surveys and detailed meal timing questionnaires, reporting their first and last caloric intake times on both workdays and free days. They also ranked their willingness to engage in several time-based eating strategies, including Time-Restricted Eating (TRE), the Bedtime Stopping Rule, and the Breakfast Like a King approach. Descriptive statistics (means ± SD, frequencies) were calculated to characterize participant demographics, eating windows, and preferences for timing-based weight management approaches.

Results: Postpartum women had longer eating windows than national averages, averaging 14 hours 16 minutes on workdays and 12 hours 39 minutes on free days. The Bedtime Stopping Rule was the most preferred strategy, with participants willing to stop eating about 2.2 hours before bedtime (Table 3). Time-restricted eating (TRE) windows were also assessed: participants preferred a 9-hour eating window starting around 9:07 AM and ending around 6:07 PM (Table 4). Actual eating windows on workdays further supported extended intake patterns (Table 5), which may contribute to postpartum weight retention.

Discussion: Postpartum women preferred the Bedtime Stopping Rule, typically stopping intake about 2.2 hours before sleep. Their eating windows were longer than national averages, suggesting extended intake may contribute to postpartum weight retention. Ongoing analyses will assess how eating timing and macronutrient distribution relate to body composition. Qualitative findings will help identify barriers and inform the design of a novel, time-based dietary intervention tailored for postpartum women, aiming to support sustainable weight management and improve metabolic health outcomes.