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Adolescent Snacking Behaviors Are Associated with Dietary Intake and Weight Status.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Larson, NI; Miller, JM; Watts, AW; Story, MT; Neumark-Sztainer, DR
Published in: J Nutr
July 2016

BACKGROUND: Most adolescents consume ≥1 snack/d; exploring the relevance of snacking patterns for overall diet and weight status is important to guide dietary counseling and public health strategies for obesity prevention. OBJECTIVE: This study examined intake of common energy-dense snack foods, total number of snacks consumed, frequency of consuming snacks prepared away from home, and frequency of snacking while watching television in adolescents and how these behaviors may be linked to diet and weight status. Relations were examined with attention to potential confounders that may help explain the mixed findings of previous research. METHODS: Survey measures of snacking behavior, a food-frequency questionnaire, and anthropometric measurements were completed by 2793 adolescents (53.2% girls, mean age = 14.4 y) in Minneapolis-St. Paul school classrooms in 2009-2010. Linear regression was used to examine associations with adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics and other potential confounding factors, such as meal skipping, underreporting energy intake, dieting to lose weight, and physical activity. RESULTS: Adolescents reported consuming a mean of 2.2 energy-dense snack food servings/d and 4.3 snacks/d and purchasing snacks prepared away from home on 3.2 occasions/wk. More than two-thirds of adolescents reported that they sometimes, usually, or always consumed a snack while watching television. The measures of snacking were directly associated (P < 0.01) with higher energy, lower fruit/vegetable, higher sugar-sweetened beverage, and more frequent fast-food intakes in all models except for one: energy-dense snack food servings were not related to sugar-sweetened beverage intake. A direct relation between daily servings of energy-dense snack foods and body mass index (BMI) z score was found; however, the snacking behaviors were inversely related to BMI z score (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The observed cross-sectional associations suggest that snack consumption is a risk factor for poor diet, but unless energy-dense foods are consumed, snacking does not consistently contribute to overweight in US adolescents.

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Published In

J Nutr

DOI

EISSN

1541-6100

Publication Date

July 2016

Volume

146

Issue

7

Start / End Page

1348 / 1355

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Snacks
  • Nutrition & Dietetics
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Food Preferences
  • Female
  • Eating
  • Diet Surveys
  • Body Weight
  • Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
 

Citation

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Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
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Larson, N. I., Miller, J. M., Watts, A. W., Story, M. T., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. R. (2016). Adolescent Snacking Behaviors Are Associated with Dietary Intake and Weight Status. J Nutr, 146(7), 1348–1355. https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.116.230334
Larson, Nicole I., Jonathan M. Miller, Allison W. Watts, Mary T. Story, and Dianne R. Neumark-Sztainer. “Adolescent Snacking Behaviors Are Associated with Dietary Intake and Weight Status.J Nutr 146, no. 7 (July 2016): 1348–55. https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.116.230334.
Larson NI, Miller JM, Watts AW, Story MT, Neumark-Sztainer DR. Adolescent Snacking Behaviors Are Associated with Dietary Intake and Weight Status. J Nutr. 2016 Jul;146(7):1348–55.
Larson, Nicole I., et al. “Adolescent Snacking Behaviors Are Associated with Dietary Intake and Weight Status.J Nutr, vol. 146, no. 7, July 2016, pp. 1348–55. Pubmed, doi:10.3945/jn.116.230334.
Larson NI, Miller JM, Watts AW, Story MT, Neumark-Sztainer DR. Adolescent Snacking Behaviors Are Associated with Dietary Intake and Weight Status. J Nutr. 2016 Jul;146(7):1348–1355.
Journal cover image

Published In

J Nutr

DOI

EISSN

1541-6100

Publication Date

July 2016

Volume

146

Issue

7

Start / End Page

1348 / 1355

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Snacks
  • Nutrition & Dietetics
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Food Preferences
  • Female
  • Eating
  • Diet Surveys
  • Body Weight
  • Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena