OBJECTIVE: This study describes the food profile of healthy individuals in their natural environment, analyzing the energy and macronutrient ingestion during meals and snacks and their circadian distribution. METHODS: Seventeen volunteers, professors and administrative technicians of an educational institution in Florianópolis, Brazil, with an average age of 46.71 (±2.2) years, and average body mass index of 24.93 (±0.9) kg/m², registered the type and quantity of food and drink consumed during seven consecutive days, specifying the type of preparation, the eating event (meal or snack), the hour of the day and the day of the week. RESULTS: On average, they consumed 2.7 meals and 3.2 snacks every day. The snacks differed from the meals in both the size and proportion of the macronutrients and in the total energy value. The meals provided about three times more calories than the snacks and were mostly composed of proteins and lipids, whilst the snacks were mostly carbohydrate. The time of day also exerted an influence on consumption. CONCLUSION: In the period from 12 hours to 15 hours 59min, the consumption was significantly greater than during the rest of the day. There was no difference in total caloric consumption between weekends and weekdays.
feeding behavior; nutritional status; circadian rhythms; weekly food diary
