Chrononutrition, Body Composition, and Resting Metabolic Rate Among College Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Chrononutrition is essential for metabolic health, but relevant evidence in Chinese sports-majoring college students is still insufficient. This study aimed to identify chrononutrition patterns and their associations with body composition and resting metabolic rate (RMR) in sports-majoring college students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in 133 valid participants (70% sports-majoring, 30% non-sports-majoring) from Beijing Sport University. Chrononutrition was measured by a validated questionnaire, body composition by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and RMR by indirect calorimetry. Associations were analyzed using Pearson/Spearman correlations and sex/age-adjusted multiple linear regressions with Bonferroni correction. Results: Frequent night eating was positively correlated with BMI (r = 0.27, P = 0.001), and regular breakfast consumption was related to higher muscle mass percentage (β = 0.23, P < 0.01, sr² = 0.05). Chrononutrition showed stronger associations with body composition than with absolute RMR. Sports-majoring students had longer weekday eating windows (11.2 ± 2.8 h vs. 8.5 ± 2.5 h, P < 0.001) and higher dinner energy proportion (37.2 ± 6.9% vs. 30.5 ± 6.5%, P < 0.001) as adaptive responses to training. Males had later meal times and longer eating windows than females. Conclusion: Chrononutrition is closely associated with body composition in sports-majoring college students. Regular breakfast and reduced night eating are potential intervention targets. These findings are only applicable to sports-majoring students and cannot be generalized to the general college population.