Premium
Snacking patterns and away‐from‐home eating in relation to macronutrient intake and body weight in US children
Author(s) -
Bodor J. Nicholas,
Rose Donald Diego
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.6.a1065
Subject(s) - snacking , calorie , overweight , medicine , demography , demographics , food away from home , environmental health , body mass index , obesity , gerontology , food science , low income , biology , endocrinology , socioeconomics , sociology
Overweight prevalence has grown sharply over the past few decades. Mirroring this rise has been the increase in snacking and away‐from‐home eating. We examine these dietary patterns and their association with macronutrient intake and body weight in a sample of children (4–19 years, N=2,893) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999–2000. Dietary intake measures and percent kilocalories from snacks and away‐from‐home food were determined using 24‐hour recall data. Measured heights and weights were used to calculate BMI. Over 89% of children consumed snacks, with 55% eating some of these snacks away‐from‐home. After adjusting for gender, age, ethnicity, and income, a ten‐point increase in the percent of kilocalories from snacks was associated with greater overall daily intake of energy (92.6 kcal), carbohydrates (17.9 g), and total fat (1.9 g). A similar increase in the percent of kilocalories away‐from‐home was predictive of greater energy (32.7 kcal), carbohydrates (5.1 g), and total fat (1.3 g) consumed. Among children who snacked, away‐from‐home snacking was related to higher energy and carbohydrate intake, but not total fat. It was also positively associated with BMI, after controlling for demographics and activity level. Away‐from‐home macronutrient contributions are not uniform between meals and snacks, which may have implications for body weight. Supported by the Tulane MCH/EPID Doctoral Training Program.