Commercially produced snack food consumption among children 6‐23 months in urban Cambodia, Nepal, and Senegal

Abstract

ObjectiveConsumption of foods high in salt or sugar early in life can displace consumption of more nutritious foods during a crucial period of child growth and development. This study sought to assess consumption of commercially produced snack food products among young children in Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Kathmandu, Nepal; and Dakar, Senegal.Methods:A cross‐sectional survey was conducted among 222 Phnom Penh, 228 Kathmandu, and 218 Dakar mothers with a child 6‐23 months of age. Mothers were recruited from randomly sampled health facilities and dietary intake data were collected for their child.Results:Consumption of commercially produced snack foods (cookies/biscuits, candy/chocolate, chips/crisps, cakes/doughnuts or soft drinks) was highly prevalent. Three‐quarters (74.1%, n=169) of children in Kathmandu, 61.0% (n=133) in Dakar and 56.3% (n=125) in Phnom Penh had consumed a snack product in the day prior to interview. Almost all children had consumed a commercial snack product in the last week (91.2% [n=208] Kathmandu children, 81.2% [n=177] Dakar children; 82.0% [n=182] Phnom Penh children). When asked to name commercial baby food products, many Phnom Penh (21.6%, n=48) and Dakar (22.5%, n=49) mothers reported snack foods in this group of foods sold especially for young children. In Kathmandu, 17.1% (n=39) of mothers reported avoiding feeding commercial snack foods because they were unhealthy, however, almost all of these mothers had fed such a product in the previous week.ConclusionsThe majority of children 6‐23 months of age in this study had consumed commercial snack food products during the previous day and previous week. Given growing rates of obesity and concurrent rates of child undernutrition, high rates of snack food product consumption are of concern for nutrition interventions and policies.