Is snack consumption associated with meal skipping in children and adolescents? The CASPIAN-IV study

Abstract

Purpose: The present inquiry set to assess the relationship between snack consumption and meal skipping in Iranian children and adolescents.

Methods: Overall, 14,880 students, aged 6-18 years, were selected via multistage cluster sampling method from rural and urban areas of 30 provinces of Iran. A validated questionnaire of food behaviors including questions on snacks consumption and taking/skipping meals was completed. Consuming and skipping meals and their related factors were reported in both crude and adjusted models.

Results: Overall, 13,486 students with a mean age of 12.47 ± 3.36 years completed the study (90.6% participation rate). Among them, 32.08, 8.89, and 10.90% skipped breakfast, lunch, and dinner, respectively. Compared to their counterpart groups, the frequency of meal skipping was higher in girls, urban inhabitants, and students in higher school grades (P < 0.05). Snack consumption was associated with an increased odds ratio of meal skipping in many types of snack groups.

Conclusions: Meal skipping and snack consumption were frequent among Iranian children and adolescents. Evidence based interventions are proposed to improve the students' eating habits.

Keywords: Adolescents; Children; Meal skipping; Snack consumption.