Urban Indian adolescents practise unhealthy dietary behaviours

Purpose The rising prevalence of obesity among Indian adolescents has underscored the need to develop effective strategies to reduce this epidemic. The purpose of this paper is to assess the patterns of snacking, meal consumption and fast food consumption among adolescents in private schools in Kolkata, India. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional, paper-based, self-administered dietary and lifestyle survey was completed by 1,026 year-nine students aged 14–16 years. Cross-tabulation analyses were performed to compare the frequencies of various dietary behaviours across gender. Findings The two most common episodes for snacking among respondents were while watching television (57.9 per cent) and while interacting with peers (54.1 per cent). In contrast, snacking throughout the day (8.7 per cent) and in the middle of the night (7.8 per cent) were minimally practiced by the adolescents. The most regularly consumed meal was lunch (94.6 per cent), whereas the most frequently missed meal was breakfast (14.0 per cent). Fast food was most frequently consumed as snacks (26.8 per cent) but least frequently consumed for lunch (9.2 per cent). Overall, boys exhibited more unhealthy dietary behaviours than girls. Practical implications These findings highlight the need to develop nutrition education programmes for nutritionally vulnerable adolescents which communicate the importance of regular meal consumption, reduced intake of fast food and less snacking on energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods. Originality/value This is the first cross-sectional survey to investigate patterns of snacking, meal consumption and fast food consumption amongst urban Indian adolescents.