The snack consumption habit and its contribution to the 24h diet and the prevalence of obesity in Mexican population

Abstract

IntroductionIn Mexican population the snack intakes has been associated with unhealthy body weight and obesity in adults.ObjectiveTo compare the intake of foods consumed as snack; the 24h dietary intakes of snack and non‐snack consumers and the contribution of the prevalence of overweight and obesity between the two groups.MethodsThe dietary and anthropometric data were collected from a 24h recall questionnaire and the general information of ENSANUT 2012, a probabilistic surveys with national representativity. The adequacy of energy and macronutrients were estimated from the IOM. The statistical analysis were calculated by the STATA SE v13 and adjusted by survey design.ResultsSnack consumers were preschoolers (72.8%, n=2,109), scholars (64.3%, n=2,751), adolescents (57.1%, n=2,005) and adults (46%, n=3,173). Fries, sweets, fruits, sodas and cookies were the most consumed snacks in all age groups. In all age groups the snack consumers had larger adequacies of energy and carbohydrates (sugar in particular). The contribution of snacks to the total energy intake was preschoolers 21%, scholars 18%, adolescents 19.9% and adults 20%. These contributions were inadequate for carbohydrates and sugars. No differences were found in the mean of BMI or prevalence of unhealthy weight, except in preschoolers who had a greater BMI z‐score in snack than in non‐snack consumers (0.7 vs 0.4 SD, p<0.05).ConclusionSnack consumers showed larger intakes of energy and macronutrients. Snacks contributed to larger intakes of macro and micronutrients but were not associated with unhealthy weight except in preschoolers.