Dietary Behavior, Physical Activity, and 24-Hour Rhythm Coherence: A Digital Phenotyping Perspective on Vascular and Glycemic Health.

BACKGROUND

Cardiometabolic risk is shaped not only by the amount of food intake and physical activity but also by their timing and regularity across the 24 h cycle. We propose rhythm coherence as a hypothesis-generating framework describing the temporal stability and alignment of eating, physical activity, and sleep. Its vascular and glycemic relevance has not yet been prospectively validated.

METHODS

This semi-structured narrative review was supported by a transparent, staged evidence-identification process using PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science Core Collection. Main searches used a 2020-2026 window, with a broader 2018-2026 window for targeted athlete-focused searches. After cross-database deduplication, 1081 unique records entered broad screening; 694 underwent strict screening, yielding 257 core candidate records. A targeted athlete-focused search contributed 46 additional records, producing a 303-record candidate evidence pool for topic mapping. From this pool, 131 high-priority records underwent full-text narrative synthesis, and 92 sources were ultimately cited directly in the manuscript. These counts represent successive review stages rather than a PRISMA-defined systematic-review inclusion set.

RESULTS

Earlier or more regular eating patterns, postprandial physical activity, and stable sleep-wake schedules were associated with more favorable cardiometabolic profiles in selected studies. However, the evidence was heterogeneous and included mechanistic studies, observational analyses, and intervention trials. These findings support further investigation but do not establish an effect of integrated eating-activity-sleep coherence. Numerical effects reported for individual interventions should not be attributed to the proposed integrated framework or to the Rhythm Coherence Index (RCI).

CONCLUSIONS

Coordinated assessment of eating, activity, and sleep timing may offer a useful research direction. The RCI is an author-proposed candidate composite, not an existing validated instrument or clinical decision rule. Its formula, component weights, missing-data procedures, thresholds, reliability, responsiveness, predictive value, and external validity require prospective evaluation before clinical application can be considered.