Status of snacks consumption among pupils and correlations with their parents' knowledge and attitude in Jing'an District in Shanghai

Objective To describe the status of snacks consumption among pupils and the correlations with their parents' knowledge and attitude,so as to provide evidence for cultivating sound dietary habits.Methods A total of 1 446 pupils were selected by cluster sampling from Jing' an district,and a self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted among their parents.Results There were 90.9% pupils consuming snacks.The resources of snacks were from parents,elders or other adults(91.9%).Only 32.1% of all pupils who washed their hands before eating snacks.The main snack items that pupils ate everyday were pure milk or yoghourt(68.2%),fresh fruit and vegetables(61.3%).Candy(2.4%) and the extrude food(0.8%) were less.Pupils' consuming behaviors were associated with age and their parents' knowledge and attitudes about snacks consumption.The younger pupils had more scores in snacks consuming behaviors than the older,and pupils had more scores when their parents had more scores in knowledge and attitudes about snacks consumption.Conclusion It's very important to strengthen the diet education,teach them how to select and consume snacks among parents and pupils.