The "Snacking Child" and its social network: some insights from an italian survey

Nutrition Journal

Research

Paola Berchialla¹  Francesca Foltran²  Dario Gregori²  Simonetta Ballali³  Marco Ghidina⁴  Federica Zobec⁴  Laura Franchin⁴ 

[1] Department of Public Health and Microbiology, University of Torino, via Santena 5 bis, 10126, Torino, Italy;Laboratory of Epidemiological Methods and Biostatistics, Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, University of Padova, via Loredan 18, 35031, Padova, Italy;Prochild ONLUS, Piazza San Giovanni 2, 34122, Trieste, Italy;ZETA Research Inc., via Caccia 8, 34129, Trieste, Italy;

关键词: snacks;    overweight in children;    social networks;    physical activity;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1475-2891-10-132

 received in 2011-08-22, accepted in 2011-11-29,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe hypothesis underlying this work is that the social network of a child might have an impact on the alimentary behaviors, in particular for what concerns snack consumption patterns.Methods1215 Italian children 6-10 ys old were interviewed using a CATI facility in January 2010. 608 "snackers" and 607 "no-snackers" were identified. Information regarding family composition, child and relatives BMI, mother perception of child weight, child, father and mother physical activity, TV watching, social network, leisure time habits and dietary habits of peers, were collected. Association of variables with the status of snacker was investigated using a multivariable logistic regression model.ResultsSnackers children seem to be part of more numerous social network (1.40 friends vs 1.14, p = 0.042) where the majority of peers are also eating snacks, this percentage being significantly higher (89.5 vs 76.3, p < 0.001) than in the "no-snacker" group. The snacking group is identified by the fact that it tends to practice at least 4 hours per week of physical activity (OR: 1.36, CI: 1.03-1.9). No evidence of an association between snacking consumption and overweight status has been shown by our study.ConclusionsThe snacking child has more active peer-to-peer social relationships, mostly related with sport activities. However, spending leisure time in sportive activities implies being part of a social environment which is definitely a positive one from the point of view of obesity control, and indeed, no increase of overweight/obesity is seen in relation to snack consumption.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Gregori et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011