TY - JOUR
T1 - Snacking behaviour and its determinants among college-going students in Coastal South India
AU - Mithra, Prasanna
AU - Unnikrishnan, Bhaskaran
AU - Thapar, Rekha
AU - Kumar, Nithin
AU - Hegde, Sharana
AU - Kamat, Anjali Mangaldas
AU - Kulkarni, Vaman
AU - Holla, Ramesh
AU - Darshan, B. B.
AU - Tanuj, Kanchan
AU - Guddattu, Vasudev
AU - Kumar, Avinash
N1 - Funding Information:
Prasanna Mithra was supported by the Fogarty International Centre, National Institutes of Health, under Award number D43TW008332 (ASCEND Research Network). e authors also express their sincere gratitude to all the study participants and the Department of Community Medicine, Kas-turba Medical College (Manipal Academy of Higher Education), Mangaluru, India.
Funding Information:
Prasanna Mithra was supported by the Fogarty International Centre, National Institutes of Health, under Award number D43TW008332 (ASCEND Research Network). The authors also express their sincere gratitude to all the study participants and the Department of Community Medicine, Kasturba Medical College (Manipal Academy of Higher Education), Mangaluru, India.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2018 Prasanna Mithra et al.
PY - 2018/1/1
Y1 - 2018/1/1
N2 - Background. Consumption of snacks in between the regular meals is a poor snacking behaviour. It is an established risk factor for several lifestyle-related disorders and has long-term effects among the younger individuals. Objectives. To study the snacking behaviour and to assess their determinants among college-going students. Methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 865 college-going students in Mangaluru. Data were collected using a pretested pro forma that was coded and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 11.5. The chi-square test and random-effect logistic regression analyses were used. Results. Overall, there were 52.4% females and 47.6% males, and 76.8% of them were aged <20 years. More than half of the participants (54.3%) had the habit of snacking in between regular meals. Among them, a large proportion (78.7%) did not have any specific timings for snacking. Also, 51.1% of the students were snacking while watching TV, and 31.9% of them snacked while studying. Breakfast was the most commonly skipped meal (26.2%); of those missing the breakfast regularly, 123 (71.9%) had poor snacking behaviour. A significantly larger proportion of males had a higher frequency of snacking per day (69.3% versus 57.2%, p < 0.0001) and consumed aerated drinks more frequently (22.6% versus 15.8%, p 0.011), skipped meals more often (58.6% versus 50.6%, p 0.022), and preferred adding fruits in snacks (78.1% versus 69.4%, p 0.005). Snacking frequency was proportionately higher among students of private colleges (73.6%) than that in the government colleges (55.1%). Participants from nonscience stream, nonvegetarians, and those with a tendency to skip the regular meals had significantly higher levels of poor snacking behaviour. Conclusions. The study population had a high level of poor snacking behaviour. Appropriate measures are needed among younger people to follow fixed eating patterns and avoid skipping of regular meals.
AB - Background. Consumption of snacks in between the regular meals is a poor snacking behaviour. It is an established risk factor for several lifestyle-related disorders and has long-term effects among the younger individuals. Objectives. To study the snacking behaviour and to assess their determinants among college-going students. Methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 865 college-going students in Mangaluru. Data were collected using a pretested pro forma that was coded and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 11.5. The chi-square test and random-effect logistic regression analyses were used. Results. Overall, there were 52.4% females and 47.6% males, and 76.8% of them were aged <20 years. More than half of the participants (54.3%) had the habit of snacking in between regular meals. Among them, a large proportion (78.7%) did not have any specific timings for snacking. Also, 51.1% of the students were snacking while watching TV, and 31.9% of them snacked while studying. Breakfast was the most commonly skipped meal (26.2%); of those missing the breakfast regularly, 123 (71.9%) had poor snacking behaviour. A significantly larger proportion of males had a higher frequency of snacking per day (69.3% versus 57.2%, p < 0.0001) and consumed aerated drinks more frequently (22.6% versus 15.8%, p 0.011), skipped meals more often (58.6% versus 50.6%, p 0.022), and preferred adding fruits in snacks (78.1% versus 69.4%, p 0.005). Snacking frequency was proportionately higher among students of private colleges (73.6%) than that in the government colleges (55.1%). Participants from nonscience stream, nonvegetarians, and those with a tendency to skip the regular meals had significantly higher levels of poor snacking behaviour. Conclusions. The study population had a high level of poor snacking behaviour. Appropriate measures are needed among younger people to follow fixed eating patterns and avoid skipping of regular meals.
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U2 - 10.1155/2018/6785741
DO - 10.1155/2018/6785741
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85046451534
SN - 2090-0724
VL - 2018
JO - Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism
JF - Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism
M1 - 6785741
ER -
