Author, as appears in the article.: Llauradó E; Albar S; Giralt M; Solà R; Evans C

Department: Medicina i Cirurgia Ciències Mèdiques Bàsiques

URV's Author/s: Giralt Batista, Montserrat / Llauradó Ribé, Elisabet / Solà Alberich, Rosa Maria

Keywords: Youth Snacking Snack Eating occasions Dietary quality Cross-sectional data Adolescents

Abstract: © 2015, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. Purpose: To describe the effects of number of eating occasions and snacks on dietary quality (DQ), defined as adherence to dietary recommendations. Methods: A sample of 884 adolescents (11–18 years) in the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) were included. The Diet Quality Index for Adolescents (DQI-A) was implemented. The total number of eating occasions and snacks was frequency of food or beverages consumed over 24 h and frequency of foods or beverages consumed outside of the three mealtimes, respectively. Results were generated with and without low-energy food under 210 kJ (50 kcal). Regression models were generated with DQ score as the outcome variable and number of eating occasions and snacks as predictors. Results: The mean (95 % CI) DQ score was 31.1 % (30.2, 32.0). The mean number of eating occasions and snacks was 7.5 (7.3, 7.7) and 2.6 (2.6, 2.7) times/day, respectively. When low-energy events were excluded, the mean number of eating occasions and snacks reduced to 6.2 (6.1, 6.4) and 2.0 (2.0, 2.1) times/day, respectively. DQ score increased by 0.74 points (0.42, 1.05; p < 0.01) and 0.55 points (−0.08, 0.69; p = 0.17) for total eating occasions and snacks, respectively. When low-energy events were excluded, DQ score increased by 0.30 points (−0.84, 0.69; p = 0.13) for each eating occasion and decreased by 1.20 points (−2.1, −0.3; p < 0.01) for each snack. Conclusion: Eating more frequently improves dietary quality especially if some eating occasions are low in energy. A focus on replacing high-energy snacks with low-energy alternatives rather than reducing the number of eating occasions may result in improved dietary quality in adolescents.

Thematic Areas: Serviço social Saúde coletiva Química Nutrition and dietetics Nutrition & dietetics Nutrição Medicine (miscellaneous) Medicina veterinaria Medicina iii Medicina ii Medicina i Interdisciplinar Farmacia Educação física Ciências biológicas iii Ciências biológicas ii Ciências biológicas i Ciências ambientais Ciências agrárias i Ciência de alimentos

licence for use: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/

ISSN: 14366207

Author's mail: elisabet.llaurado@urv.cat rosa.sola@urv.cat montse.giralt@urv.cat

Author identifier: 0000-0002-7439-9531 0000-0002-8359-235X 0000-0002-7073-577X

Record's date: 2023-02-19

Papper version: info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion

Link to the original source: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00394-015-0997-8

Licence document URL: http://repositori.urv.cat/ca/proteccio-de-dades/

Papper original source: European Journal Of Nutrition. 55 (4): 1789-1797

APA: Llauradó E; Albar S; Giralt M; Solà R; Evans C (2016). The effect of snacking and eating frequency on dietary quality in British adolescents. European Journal Of Nutrition, 55(4), 1789-1797. DOI: 10.1007/s00394-015-0997-8

Article's DOI: 10.1007/s00394-015-0997-8

Entity: Universitat Rovira i Virgili

Journal publication year: 2016

Publication Type: Journal Publications