Snack consumption of children and adolescents in China and its correlation with overweight and obesity / 中国学校卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To understand the current situation of snack consumption among children and adolescents in China and its relationship with overweight and obesity, so as to provide a basis for formulating strategies of preventing and controlling overweight and obesity in children and adolescents in China.@*Methods@#A total of 1 882 children and adolescents aged 6-17 years old, choosed from 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities according to China Health and Nutrition Survey in 2018, were selected. Snack consumption was investigated by the 24 hour dietary retrospective method for three consecutive days. The pattern of snack consumption was explored by cluster analysis, and the relationship between snack consumption and overweight and obesity was analyzed by Logistic regression.@*Results@#The snack consumption rate was 60.6%, and the percentage of daily energy intake from snacks was 2.4%. Snack consumption characteristics could be divided into four modes. Mode 1 was characterized by daily intake of medium amount of fruit, Mode 2 was characterized by daily intake of small amount of fruit and baked goods, Mode 3 was characterized by daily intake of small amount of fruit, and Mode 4 was characterized by daily intake of medium amount of milk and small amount of fruit. After adjusting the relevant covariates such as energy intake, compared with those who did not eat snacks, the OR (95% CI ) values of the risk of overweight and obesity in different snack consumption patterns were 1.56(0.93- 2.58 ), 0.81( 0.51- 1.24), 1.24(0.94-1.63) and 1.00(0.60-1.63), respectively; the OR (95% CI ) values of percentage of daily energy intake from snacks from low to high quartiles were 1.17(0.81-1.68), 1.32(0.92-1.89), 1.12(0.77-1.61) and 1.00(0.69-1.45), respectively. There was no statistically significant difference( P >0.05).@*Conclusion@#The proportion of Chinese children and adolescents consuming snacks is relatively high, mainly including fruit and its products, milk and its products and baked goods. No association between snack consumption and overweight and obesity has been found.