Dietary patterns of obese high school girls: snack consumption and energy intake

Abstract

In order to develop an obesity management program for teenagers, we compared obese and non-obese girls attending high schools in terms of their dietary practices related to snack consumption. Dietary records were collected for 7 days. No significant differences were found for the average daily energy intake between obese and non-obese girls. However, the highest energy intake was greater for obese girls while not much difference was found for the lowest amount of energy intake. Obese girls had significantly lower intakes in calcium (P < 0.01), vitamin A (P < 0.001) and folate (P < 0.01). Mean energy intake from snack (594.1 ± 312.1kcal) was significantly higher for obese girls than for non-obese girls (360.1 ± 173.1kcal) (P < 0.001). A significant, positive correlation was observed between energy intake from snack and total daily energy intake (r = 0.34 P < 0.01) only for obese girls. In case of dietary behaviors, obese adolescent girls consumed significantly greater number of items for snacks and fewer foods for regular meals compared to non-obese girls (P < 0.05). This study suggested that obesity management programs for adolescents should focus on providing strategies to reduce snack through enhancing balanced regular meals.

Association of parents' nutritional status, and sociodemographic and dietary factors with overweight/obesity in schoolchildren 7 to 14 years old

“…This finding is similar to that of Hanley et al 38 among 242 Canadian schoolchildren from 10 to 19 years old, although it disagrees with most studies of the association between the quality of food consumed and overweight/obesity in schoolchildren 12,39,40 . That consumption of health-risk foods displays a protective effect on overweight/obesity can be explained by the cross-sectional study design, which is prone to reverse causality, which prevents a clear causeand-effect relationship being established between the variable analyzed and overweight/ obesity in the schoolchildren.…”

“…In this way it reduces consumption of fast-food snacks, which are generally high energy value and rich in fats, sugars and salt. A study of adolescents in South Korea showed obesity among the girls who ate meals most irregularly, and who consequently ate more fast-food snacks 40 . In this respect, skipping meals, including breakfast, favors unhealthy and inappropriate choices at later meals at irregular hours, while more meals per day at regular times is regarded as contributing to control of body weight.…”

Adolescent dietary patterns in Fiji and their relationships with standardized body mass index

“…This is an interesting finding, as other studies have showed that increased snacking on these food items is significantly associated with excess body weight among adolescents [18]. This may be due to snacking or eating of other high energy-dense food at other times, desire to lose weight or misreporting of snacking behaviour.…”

“…Studies undertaken in other parts of the world that have examined the association between dietary patterns and weight status in primary school aged children and in adolescents have found that regular meal patterns were associated with lower standardized body mass index (BMI-z) while breakfast skipping, high consumption of snacks, SSB and low consumption of fruit and vegetables were associated with increased BMI-z [18-21]. Such information is needed in Fiji given the escalating problem of obesity among adolescents.…”

A Study on Perceived Weight, Eating Habits, and Unhealthy Weight Control Behavior in Korean Adolescents

“…These odds were: 0.70 times lower for girls and 0.72 times lower for boys in regard to soda, 0.74 times lower for girls and 0.60 times lower for boys in regard to fast food, 0.66 times for girls and 0.59 times for boys in regard to instant noodles, and 0.81 times lower for girls and 83 times lower for boys in regard to snacks. Significant associations of UWCB with the frequencies of meals and snacks are related to the result of Yoon & Lee (2010). Yoon and Lee (2010) identified that obese adolescent girls consumed a significantly greater number of items for snacks and fewer food items for regular meals compared to non-obese girls (Yoon & Lee, 2010).…”