Daily Snacking Occasions, Snack Size, and Snack Energy Density as Predictors of Diet Quality among US Children Aged 2 to 5 Years
Whether snacks help young children meet nutritional needs or merely contribute to excessive intakes is debated. This research evaluated associations of snacking with dietary quality among US preschoolers (two to five years, <i>n</i> = 4217) in the 2005−2016 National Health Exam...
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doaj-12095418d3064ed7acf2434a31e66cde2020-11-25T01:07:48ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432019-06-01117144010.3390/nu11071440nu11071440Daily Snacking Occasions, Snack Size, and Snack Energy Density as Predictors of Diet Quality among US Children Aged 2 to 5 YearsAlexandria Kachurak0Regan L. Bailey1Adam Davey2Lauren Dabritz3Jennifer Orlet Fisher4Center for Obesity Research and Education, College of Public Health, Temple University, 3223 N. Broad Street, Suite 175, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USADepartment of Nutrition Science, College of Health and Human Services, Purdue University, 700 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USADepartment of Behavioral Health and Nutrition, University of Delaware, 016 Carpenter Sports Building, Newark, DE 19716, USACenter for Obesity Research and Education, College of Public Health, Temple University, 3223 N. Broad Street, Suite 175, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USADepartment of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Obesity Research and Education, College of Public Health, Temple University, 3223 N. Broad Street, Suite 175, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USAWhether snacks help young children meet nutritional needs or merely contribute to excessive intakes is debated. This research evaluated associations of snacking with dietary quality among US preschoolers (two to five years, <i>n</i> = 4217) in the 2005−2016 National Health Examination Survey (NHANES). Snacking occasions, size, and energy density (ED) were estimated from two 24-hr dietary recalls. Diet quality indices included the 2015 Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2015, 0−100), the mean adequacy ratio (MAR, 0−100) for five shortfall nutrients (vitamin D, calcium, fiber, potassium, and iron), and the mean % of recommended limits for added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium. Linear regressions included snacking parameters, demographics, and dietary reporting accuracy. Children had a mean HEI-2015 of 53.0, a MAR of 67.7, and intake of 121.4% of nutrients to limit. Daily snacking occasions were positively associated with HEI-2015 scores, whereas mean snack size and ED were negatively associated with HEI-2015 and MAR scores (all <i>p</i> < 0.05). Snack ED was positively associated with daily intakes of added sugar, saturated fat, and sodium (<i>p</i> < 0.001). These nationally representative findings reveal that more frequent, smaller, and less energy-dense snacks are associated with higher diet quality among US preschoolers.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/7/1440snackingpreschoolchildrendiet qualityhealthy eating indexmean adequacy ratioshortfall nutrientsadded sugarsodiumsaturated fat |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Alexandria Kachurak Regan L. Bailey Adam Davey Lauren Dabritz Jennifer Orlet Fisher |
spellingShingle |
Alexandria Kachurak Regan L. Bailey Adam Davey Lauren Dabritz Jennifer Orlet Fisher Daily Snacking Occasions, Snack Size, and Snack Energy Density as Predictors of Diet Quality among US Children Aged 2 to 5 Years Nutrients snacking preschool children diet quality healthy eating index mean adequacy ratio shortfall nutrients added sugar sodium saturated fat |
author_facet |
Alexandria Kachurak Regan L. Bailey Adam Davey Lauren Dabritz Jennifer Orlet Fisher |
author_sort |
Alexandria Kachurak |
title |
Daily Snacking Occasions, Snack Size, and Snack Energy Density as Predictors of Diet Quality among US Children Aged 2 to 5 Years |
title_short |
Daily Snacking Occasions, Snack Size, and Snack Energy Density as Predictors of Diet Quality among US Children Aged 2 to 5 Years |
title_full |
Daily Snacking Occasions, Snack Size, and Snack Energy Density as Predictors of Diet Quality among US Children Aged 2 to 5 Years |
title_fullStr |
Daily Snacking Occasions, Snack Size, and Snack Energy Density as Predictors of Diet Quality among US Children Aged 2 to 5 Years |
title_full_unstemmed |
Daily Snacking Occasions, Snack Size, and Snack Energy Density as Predictors of Diet Quality among US Children Aged 2 to 5 Years |
title_sort |
daily snacking occasions, snack size, and snack energy density as predictors of diet quality among us children aged 2 to 5 years |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Nutrients |
issn |
2072-6643 |
publishDate |
2019-06-01 |
description |
Whether snacks help young children meet nutritional needs or merely contribute to excessive intakes is debated. This research evaluated associations of snacking with dietary quality among US preschoolers (two to five years, <i>n</i> = 4217) in the 2005−2016 National Health Examination Survey (NHANES). Snacking occasions, size, and energy density (ED) were estimated from two 24-hr dietary recalls. Diet quality indices included the 2015 Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2015, 0−100), the mean adequacy ratio (MAR, 0−100) for five shortfall nutrients (vitamin D, calcium, fiber, potassium, and iron), and the mean % of recommended limits for added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium. Linear regressions included snacking parameters, demographics, and dietary reporting accuracy. Children had a mean HEI-2015 of 53.0, a MAR of 67.7, and intake of 121.4% of nutrients to limit. Daily snacking occasions were positively associated with HEI-2015 scores, whereas mean snack size and ED were negatively associated with HEI-2015 and MAR scores (all <i>p</i> < 0.05). Snack ED was positively associated with daily intakes of added sugar, saturated fat, and sodium (<i>p</i> < 0.001). These nationally representative findings reveal that more frequent, smaller, and less energy-dense snacks are associated with higher diet quality among US preschoolers. |
topic |
snacking preschool children diet quality healthy eating index mean adequacy ratio shortfall nutrients added sugar sodium saturated fat |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/7/1440 |
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