Study on Eating Snacks Behaviors among School age Children in Chengdu

Objective To investigate the situation of snack eating behaviors among school children in Chengdu and to provide evidence for reasonable snack consumption.Methods With cluster sampling,1 290 pupils of grade 4 to grade 6 from two primary schools in Chengdu urban area were selected.Questionnaires were used to collect the data including recent related snack eating behaviors.Results It showed that children eating snacks less than 3 times per day accounted for 93.4%.The most popular snacks were listed as fruits(54.1%),ice-cream(35.3%),candy and chocolate(28.2%).However,93.7% children preferred snacks rich in fat,sugar and salt and 69% of them ate snack in no hunger while 31.0% in hunger.They chose snack depending on taste(83.4%),nutrition(52.2%),parents' preparation(17.7%),and family usually consumed foods(15.0%).53.3% children ate snack before dinner,while 28.7% after dinner and 9.2% before sleeping respectively.54.3% snacks were purchased by themselves while 43.5% were prepared by parents.Conclusion It's essential to guide scientific and healthy snack consumption among school children in Chengdu.