The Frequency and Context of Snacking among Children: An Objective Analysis Using Wearable Cameras.

Ryan Gage,Moira Smith,Louise Signal,Ester Joe,Rachael Mclean,Christina Mckerchar,Viliami Puloka,Martin Girling-Butcher,Cliona Ni Mhurchu

doi:10.3390/nu13010103

Abstract

Snacking is a common eating behaviour, but there is little objective data about children’s snacking. We aimed to determine the frequency and context of children’s snacking (n = 158; mean age = 12.6 years) by ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic deprivation and body mass index (BMI) children. Participants wore wearable cameras that passively captured images of their surroundings every seven seconds. Images (n = 739,162) were coded for snacking episodes, defined as eating occasions in between main meals. Contextual factors analysed included: snacking location, food source, timing, social contact and screen use. Rates of total, discretionary (not recommended for consumption) and healthful (recommended for consumption) snacking were calculated using negative binomial regression. On average, children consumed 8.2 (95%CI 7.4, 9.1) snacks per day, of which 5.2 (95%CI 4.6, 5.9) were discretionary foods/beverages. Children consumed more discretionary snacks than healthful snacks in each setting and at all times, including 15.0× more discretionary snacks in public spaces and 2.4× more discretionary snacks in schools. Most snacks (68.9%) were sourced from home. Girls consumed more total, discretionary and healthful snacks than boys, and Māori and Pacific consumed fewer healthful snacks than New Zealand (NZ) Europeans. Results show that children snack frequently, and that most snacking involves discretionary food items. Our findings suggest targeting home buying behaviour and environmental changes to support healthy snacking choices.

Highlights

IntroductionMeasuring its contribution to the diet presents several challenges for researchers
Than not overweight children (57.3%), and children living in conditions of higher socioeconomic deprivation (32.0%) than children living in conditions of lower socioeconomic deprivation (68.0%)
We found higher rates of discretionary snacking than healthful snacking in all settings and hours of day, highlighting the need to promote healthy snacking behaviours among New Zealand (NZ) children

Summary

Introduction

Measuring its contribution to the diet presents several challenges for researchers. There is no fixed definition of snacking. As highlighted in recent reviews [1,2], the most common definition classifies snacking episodes as food/beverages consumed in between main meals. Even among studies following this definition, approaches to quantifying these foods and beverages vary. Examples include time-based approaches, where snacks are differentiated from meals based on time (with meals generally including the largest eating episode falling within pre-specified time windows); participant-identified approaches, where participants themselves distinguish snacks from meals; and food-based classification, which differentiates snacks from meals based on nutritional profile, e.g., energy density [3]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion